Scars of the Heart
by Tmac2773
Summary: When the Brothers created humanity and Grimm, they left a couple of gifts for the inhabitants of Remnant. One of which, is obviously Aura. The second, and greater gift, may serve to be Beacon's strongest asset. Follow Jaune and his friends as they come to terms with each other, and themselves.
1. Chapter 1: Alone

**So, I've been a passive observer on fanfiction for a little over six years now.** **I don't think I've ever even commented on a story before.** **I've read several stories through several different genres and subjects. There have been some great stories throughout the entirety of the site. Some that I have even preferred over the novels and movies they are based upon. I tried to write a story a few years ago, but I do not think that I had the passion, or even the talent and commitment, to write it. I was unprepared. I spent several months looking at the two chapter story and thinking to myself "man, writing is difficult." I left the story without a word, to which I apologize if anyone was truly interested in it, and committed myself to continue with just browsing through the stories and enjoying what I read. This changed when I found the RWBY fanfiction category. I started reading there when there were a little over 1,000 stories and have been hooked ever since. The show just allows for so much freedom in the way you can write. The characters have depth and the world they are place in is the perfect mix of adventure and excitement with a little bit of romance thrown in.**

 **To the main point, why I want to pick up writing again. I promised myself that I wouldn't attempt another fic until I was truly ready and committed. I didn't think that it would ever happen with the way my schedule works, and with how much I abhor my writing style. This changed when I stumbled upon Coeur Al'Aran's stories. The way that he writes is astounding. He takes the base characters that we know and love and changes everything about the story we think we know. Now, I know that my stories will be nothing compared to his, that's not my point. My point is, is that his stories have reignited something in my imagination that I now wish to put to paper, or laptop as it is.**

 **But, enough about me, onto the story.**

 **I have been hoping for a soul bond/mate fic ever since I have been browsing the RWBY category. I have found a few that have really peaked my interest, but I found a subreddit that had this story concept that I hadn't seen before. On top of that, I haven't seen anyone take up the concept. So, I decided to be a little ambitious and try it out for my first story.**

 **As is standard, RWBY and everything involved, does not belong to me.**

 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Alone**

 _Humanity was not created to live isolated lives. One needs only to look at the brothers who brought us into this world to see that. The Brother of Light, as we now regard him, was alone in the desolate landscape. The emptiness inside him matched the emptiness around him. Nothing existed; not life, not emotion, nothing asides him. Alone in the most complete sense. Alone, until he wasn't. His brother brought him happiness that he wasn't aware existed, for the emptiness around him was now filled, as too was the emptiness inside him. Joy, brought by communion with his brother, was the greatest thing he had ever felt, for no longer would he be isolated to a meaningless existence. These feelings drove him to search for more, to bring about something new. With this, he begun the creation of the world that we call home. He molded the land and sea, created life in flora and fauna, but it was not enough. The creatures lived and survived in the environment that he created, but did not feel the joy of being alive that he so desperately wanted to share. So he harnessed the emotions that he felt with his brother, and impressed it upon the fauna as he shaped and molded them. Thus, the Faunus were born. At last, he felt the fellowship with another like he had with his brother, and it was magnified just as he had imagined. For a time, they walked with him and they lived together in harmony, but ,when the newness wore off, the Brother noticed that all was not what he wanted. The Faunus were content with life for the sake of life and did not strive to harness, and further, the emotions as he had hoped. They were like him, but also unlike him. They felt no need to grow and were content with the byproduct of the emotions that he had felt. So again, he wanted to create something that strove to elicit the emotions that he felt in others. With this idea, the first humans were created. The Brother of Light knew that he did not want the same result as with the Faunus, so he created the Humans, led them to the Faunus, and detached himself, content with observing the life that he created. The Faunus were distraught at the loss of their creator, but treated the Humans as their own. They watched as they grew into something that was like them, but not like them. They felt a communion with the Humans that brought forth an emotion not unlike the ones the felt with the Brother of Light._

 _Finally, the Brother felt at peace, for he knew that this is what he had always wanted, even if he, himself was not able to be with them. However, his brother, who we now refer to as the Brother of Darkness, was not happy. He was envious of these creations who had stolen his brother from him. He did not see why his brother needed these things to occupy his time, it was just fine when it was the two of them. The Brother used these feelings of resentment that he felt to create a creature that would rival his brother's. Like his brother, he impressed these feelings upon the fauna of the world, bringing about the creatures that we know as Grimm. The Grimm did not think, they only knew of the hatred towards human and Faunus kind. They needed to rid the world of these creatures, so they attacked. Unprepared, humanity had no way to combat the new creatures of the world, and they fell. For the first time, the Brother of Light felt loss, and it was worse than the emptiness that he had felt when he was alone. He knew what it was like to walk with others, the things that he had painstakingly created, and then it was taken away from him. He did not want his remaining people to ever feel the loss he had felt again, and gave them a gift to combat the creatures and these feelings, a piece from his very soul. The first instance of Aura. The brothers, Grimm, and Humanity fought until they could fight no more. In the end, the Grimm and the Brother of Darkness were pushed back and forced to escape. The world that he had created still stood, but was shaken to its very core. What remained was a shadow, something wholly incomplete, a Remnant of its past-self. With one last gift to those he had created, he left, and took his brother with him._

 _The gift that the Brother of light had left humanity with, was perhaps the greatest gift that he could have given. The gift that forged a bond between the souls that he placed inside them himself, ensuring that no one would ever truly be alone again._

* * *

With the last sentence read, Juniper Arc sat back in her chair and looked at the eyes of her children, eyes filled with wonder and amazement. She knew that they believed every word that she had read. It wasn't the first time that she had read the story of their creation, but the children would be enraptured each time. The looks in their eyes were why she would consent when they oft asked her to read the story. Even her eldest, Scarlet, who had just started at Beacon, would gather her siblings and bring them to the study when she asked her mom to read the story. Juniper glanced at her eldest with that in mind, expecting to see the same look the other Arc children wore. Instead, she was met with a face that was slightly confused, but inquisitive.

"Scarlet," the eldest daughter's eyes focused at hearing her name, "What's the matter honey?"

Scarlet hesitated, looking as if she was trying to organize her thoughts. All eyes turned as she asked her question.

"The gifts that the brother gave us, the book mentions that the first is Aura, right?" Her mother nodded, so she continued,"but the book never says anything specific about the second gift. I was just wondering if the the bond that is mentioned is our soulmates?" Scarlet finished the question with a grimace, uncomfortable speaking about the topic, but curious enough to ask anyway.

Juniper Arc grinned at the question, wondering when one of her children would stumble upon the true meaning of the story that they had so often heard. She wasn't at all surprised that it was Scarlet, the most curious of her children, that asked the question.

"Well, what do you think the bond is?" Juniper asked, trying to find her daughter's reasoning. "And the question isn't just limited to Scarlett, I want to know what all of you are thinking."

Emerald, the middle daughter, responded first.

"I always thought it was the bond between all of us, everybody I mean, not just us here."

"I used to think that too." the second born, Amber started, "but that wouldn't explain how we would never be alone, because people fight all the time and there are wars and stuff. Same would go for the bond between Humans and Faunus."

Auriel, who was between Amber and Emerald, both in age and on the couch the were resting on, took a shot next. "What about what Em was saying, but not with everybody. Is it the bond that we have as a family?"

"Then orphans, and those who lose their families when they're older wouldn't have the bond" Amber refuted again.

The older Arcs quited at that, mulling over different ideas. Juniper glanced at her youngest four, who were on the floor leaning against the couch. She was curious as to what their thoughts were. The older set of twins, Sapphire and Ai, were looking at their mom, knowing that she would answer eventually. They seemed tired of trying to figure it out themselves. Juniper smiled at them, but continued to the youngest set of twins, Jaune and Violet. While Sapphire and Ai were tired of thinking, Violet was just plain tired and had already began to doze on Jaune's shoulder. Jaune, however, seemed to pay rapt attention to everything being said as the older sisters once again started offering ideas, which were mostly countered with Amber's logic. Jaune turned and saw his mother looking at him.

"Mom," Jaune began quietly, "was Scar right?" Conversation stopped at the question from the youngest, and all eyes turned back to the Arc Matriarch.

Juniper smiled proudly at her only son, and turned to address her kids, "She was, in fact." Her smile turned into a smirk at the disgruntled look her elder children gave her for making them think it was something else. She enjoyed having her kids think for themselves, instead of just giving them the answer they were looking for. It is the process that sticks with them, after all, and not just the answer.

"When the Brother of Light left our world one last time," at this, Jaune nudged Violet to wake her for the explanation. Juniper continued "he gifted us each with a connection that would be formed from the moment both us and our soulmate are born. The connection will be with us until the time comes for us, or our soulmate, to pass on. The connection itself is almost as much a mystery to us as Aura is. It is something that is with us innately, but not something that we have complete control over. Unlike Aura, however, the proof of this lies on each and every one of us. It lies in the scars that we hold."

Eight pairs of eyes looked at her in confusion so she went on "Ai," the younger of the eldest twins focused on her, "do you remember ever having your ears pierced?" Ai's hand instinctively reached for her lobes to feel the hole in them.

"Well, not really, but I figured that you and dad just had them done when I was really little." Ai's confused face perked up quickly, "Wait, do you mean that my ears are pierced, because my soulmate has their ears pierced?"

Juniper smiled again and opened her mouth to congratulate her daughter, but was cut off by Sapphire, who was trying to hold back her laughter. "What kind of dude has their ears pierced?"

"Whoever said it was a boy" Amber countered with a smirk. Sapphire lost it and Ai hid her face in her hands, mortified.

"Girls," Juniper began sternly "don't tease your sister so much. It is becoming fairly common for men to have piercings, but even if it isn't, you should be supportive of your sister." Ai looked up at this and smiled gently at her mother, and her sisters had the decency to look properly scolded. Juniper smirked "Besides, I'm sure that AI's soulmate would look beautiful in a wedding dress." The Arc children erupted into laughter and Ai hid her face behind one of the couch cushions, mumbling about retribution. Which, of course, made Sapphire laugh even harder.

* * *

The kids were all getting ready for bed as Juniper made her rounds. She always enjoyed this time of night. She got to talk to each of her children as she tucked them in, and when she was done, she would be able to hear the sound of eight children sleeping peacefully. Eight breaths of life that she had raised from infants. Never did she feel more at peace than at these moments.

She made her way to her youngests' room. Violet, who she knew was already drowsy from earlier, was already sprawled out on her bed, fast asleep. Juniper shifted her under the covers and kissed her forehead. Violet sighed and snuggled into the pillow and her covers.

Juniper turned to do the same for Jaune, but saw two bright blue eyes looking back at her. His face seemed crinkled in concern.

"Jaune, are you okay?" His face crinkled a little more before finally relaxing.

"I'm just a little worried Mom."

"What about sweety?"

"Well, you said that we have scars from our soulmates right?" she nodded. "But the only scar that I have is the one on my arm from when I fell out of a tree. I checked just to make sure. Is it possible not to have a soulmate? Am I supposed to be alone like the Brother was in the story?"

Junipers eyes softened at the question, and she hugged her only boy when his face contorted into sadness again.

"Jaune, sweety, you know what the book says. The Brother never wanted us to be alone again. Every single person since that time has had a soulmate that they are destined to be with. Just because you don't have any scars, doesn't mean that you don't have a soulmate. Instead, you should be happy that your soulmate is unhurt."

Jaune's tears stopped at this, but he still seemed upset. "But how will I know if I don't see anything?"

"Have faith Jaune. That in and of itself is the very definition. Your soulmate is out there, looking down at their left arm and wondering about you right now."

Jaune smiled a little. "Promise?"

"I promise, now get some sleep, we have a big day for you and Violet tomorrow. You don't want to be late to your first day of class, do you?"

All traces of sadness disappeared. "Thanks, Mom. Love you"

"I love you too, Jaune. Good night."

"Night."

Juniper leaned down and kissed his cheek before tucking him in and walking out of the room.

Jaune rolled over and began to fall asleep, thoughts of a mysterious soul mate running through his mind.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter. Since this is my first story, I don't know what the update schedule will look like and it may not be consistent at all. So there may be another chapter tomorrow, or there may be one next week. Let me know what you think in the comments or through a PM. I welcome any and all criticism, because anything will help. Thanks again. Have a great day!**

 **P.S. I mentioned Coeur Al'Aran in the pre-notes. If you haven't read his stories (which I highly doubt because he pretty much owns this category) I highly suggest you go and read them. He updates regularly and has multiple stories going on at once.**

 _ **Ammendment:**_

I forgot to add in the ages of the kids. It will help things go by smoother if you know them. They are as follows:

Scarlet 17

Amber 16

Auriel 15

Emerald 15

Sapphire 13

AI 13

Violet 12

Jaune 12


	2. Chapter 2: Conviction

**Thank you so much to those who have followed and reviewed! I mentioned before the first chapter that I wouldn't start another story until I felt I was ready. I still don't know if I'm prepared enough, but I am definitely more excited for this one than the last. I feel that it is so much easier to write.**

 **Speaking of chapter one, I suggest that you guys go back and read the A/N because I added the ages of Jaune and his sisters at the end. It might clear some things up for this chapter.**

 **Lastly, I ask that you guys continue to review, because I need all the criticism I can get, even if it's negative because it will honestly help a bunch. On to the story!**

 **I do not own RWBY.**

 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Conviction**

Three years. That is the time that I have trained to become something that I wasn't even sure I wanted to be anymore. They say that a majority of the students that attend the academies do not go on to be huntsman, and that has always confused me. With the emphasis that is put upon our combat training, along with classes centered around strategy and teamwork, what else are we supposed to do with our lives if not become huntsman? Sure there are classes that I'm sure you would find in any regular school; mathematics, sciences, etc, but each of them seem to tie in elements that you would encounter facing Grimm. What angle should I shoot at to ensure that I hit my target, which dust crystals should I mix together to immobilize a fast moving Grimm, or what factor did the Grimm play at the battle of Fort Castle? If I was to become something like a shop owner in the middle of Vale, the safest city in all of Remnant, what importance would these questions play?

I shook these thoughts from my head as I approached Asylum (what a name right?) for my final first day of school. Asylum was a small academy, located in a small village halfway between Vale and Mountain Glenn. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of students who attend Asylum don't go on to become huntsman. Generally only a dozen or so from each graduating class make the cut for one of the four higher academies.

The feelings of nervousness that I had felt when I first laid eyes on the academy had not lessened in the three years I've been enrolled here. In fact, they have only gotten worse. Before, I had questions such as "Will I be good enough? Will I make any friends?" but now I know, and the answers don't calm me at all. If it wasn't for Violet being with me, I probably would have dropped out and attended a school for civilians, even if everyone else in my family graduated from Asylum.

Scarlett was a prodigy. She was every bit of the warrior that our lineage was known to produce. She didn't have the best grades in her classes, but if the problem had even the slightest application to the field of huntsman, she flourished. This is why she carried Crocea Mors, and became the sole Arc huntsman of our generation.

Amber, with her intelligence and love of all things science, moved to Atlas shortly after graduating from Asylum. There she apprenticed a team of engineers who were developing the latest and greatest Atlas tech. Within a few months, the engineers invited her to formally join their team.

Auriel, who had always been enthralled by fashion and everything that came with it, is currently working under Torry Frashei at a shop in Vale. Frashei is an up and coming fashionista who designs and sells her own clothing line in Vale. She refuses to sell anything in her shop that she did not design herself, and has faced criticism in doing so, but nobody can deny the elegance in her designs.

Emerald had dreams like Scarlett. She dreamed of becoming someone that would protect those that could not protect themselves. Through her years at Asylum, she would always vocalize her disagreement with the way that those more unfortunate were treated. The most obvious of those being the Faunus. Emerald grew tired of hearing stories of the White Fang, because it painted all Faunus as terrorists, when most just wanted to live normal lives. To combat this, she took up journalism in hopes that she could change the public opinion of the Faunus who were innocent. Her career choice took her all across Remnant, traveling to wherever she thought needed the truth.

Sapphire and Ai, the most recent graduates from Asylum, also moved to Atlas. They had the same passion for the sciences that Amber had, but they leaned towards the chemical side, rather than the mechanical. Through their studies, they had earned a joint internship with the SDC (Schnee Dust Company). Their internship was slated to begin shortly after Violet and I's first day of classes.

Violet is the brightest of us all, and I'm not just saying that because she's my twin. She has thrived in any situation that Asylum has given her, be it social, academic, or in combat. Mom and Dad have often said that she could do whatever she wanted to. I believe that wholeheartedly, and she could probably do anything that our sisters have done before us, except for maybe Auriel. Recently though, she has confided that she wants to become a teacher. She says that the only reason she does so well is because of her love for school.

Lastly, there's the youngest, me. Unlike my sisters, I've never found anything that I have a passion for. Sure, I enjoy a lot of things, but enjoying something and being able to do that thing as a career are two different things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous of my sisters. I'm proud of the their abilities and the things that they have accomplished. Well, that's not entirely true. I guess I'm a little envious that each of them have found a love for what they do. I just wish that I had even a little of the skill that they do. I work hard in school, but scrape by with mediocre grades. I try my best in our combat classes, but I can't seem to get the hang of fighting. I'm not the worst fighter in Asylum, but…

My train of thought was interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see who the hand belonged to and found myself looking into the upset eyes of my sister.

"Vi?"

"Didn't you hear me Jaune? I've said your name like five or six times. We need to hurry or we'll be late to class." WIth this, she dropped her hand and began jogging towards the school.

"Late?" I asked checking the clock tower, realizing with a start that she was right. It was almost eight o'clock. I could have swore that I left 30 minutes early to make sure that I wasn't tardy. How long had I been lost in thought?

Readjusting the straps of my school bag, I ran to catch Violet on her way to homeroom. Fortunately, I passed through the classroom doors just as the bell tolled, signalling the start of the school day. The teacher caught my eyes and nodded her head towards the only available seat in the room, one near the front of the class but also off to the side near the windows.. It seemed that I was the only student who was decided to flirt with the bell. I quickly made my way to the seat so that class could start.

As I was getting adjusted and retrieving a notebook and pencils from my bag, the teacher addressed us.

"Class, welcome to your final year at Asylum Academy. No matter what your career choice, this will be your most important year at our school. For those that aspire to be huntsman, this will be the year that you will design the weapon that you will use for years to come. For those who have other dreams, you will spend this year preparing whatever you need to realize those dreams."

At this, I glanced around at the hopeful faces of my classmates, but I couldn't bring myself to have the same reaction. I brought my eyes forward when she began again.

"My name is Mrs. Hazel, and I will be your homeroom teacher. Each day, you will have an hour set aside with me to do whatever you need to construct your future plans. What you get out of this class is determined by what you put into it. I can guide, offer insight, or be here to answer any questions you may have." She glanced around, meeting each of our eyes.

"Remember, no matter what you decide, feel no shame in the path you have chosen. For it is your unique path, and no one else's. That being said, I hope to have a great year and look forward to seeing the people that you will become."

An excited murmur went through the class as she finished. Sounds of my classmates discussing their plans for the future reached me, but I could only hang my head. I didn't have the slightest idea of what I wanted to do with my life. This was going to be a long year.

* * *

Normally, I would sit with rapt attention through the first day of school, hoping that it would be the year that I would finally figure it out. Today, however, I couldn't seem to concentrate. No matter how hard I tried, my thoughts would stray to the Mrs. Hazel's words. I had one short year to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Ten months, not including the summer. The thing that I wanted to do, more than anything else, was to be a huntsman like Scarlett, our father, his father, and so on. With my mediocre skills in combat, it's seeming more and more like a pipe-dream, rather than something that I could achieve one day.

I enjoy reading and writing like Emerald, but I don't think that I could paint a story like her. My scores in math and science almost ensured that I wouldn't be able to do what Amber, Sapphire, and Ai do. Fashion is out of the question. Who in their right mind would take fashion advice from someone who wears a blue onesie to bed? The idea of running a shop in Vale was becoming more appealing at each roadblock in my ideas.

Before I knew it, the last bell had rung for the day and students were piling out into the hallways. I gathered up my stuff and sluggishly made my way after them and towards my locker. After depositing my books, I shut the locker door and glanced up to see Violet making her way down the hall with a group of her friends. I saw her say something to her friends and make her way over to me, a concerned expression on her face.

"Jaune," she started, "what's the matter, you've been in a funk all day. Usually, you love the first day of classes." Apparently my inner turmoils weren't as hidden as I wanted them to be. Before I could respond, her expression grew even more worried.

"You're not being bullied again are you? Because if you are, I can always teach those idiots a lesson."

Well if that thought didn't just make me feel great. I loved the fact that she was willing to stand up for me, but being protected by my sisters isn't something that I want to become a habit.

Apparently she took my silence as confirmation, because her face contorted in anger. I should probably stop her before some unsuspecting fool ended up on the wrong side of hurricane Violet.

"Violet," I spoke her name, trying to settle her down. "I promise that I haven't been bullied since Emerald thought that Jerard's underwear would look better as a hat." I rolled my eyes to emphasise my point, but hers just narrowed trying to discern the truth in my statement. She didn't even grin at my attempt at humor. I thought that was a pretty good one too. I guess I can cross comedian off of my career choices as well.

"Look Vi," I put on a cheery smile to ease her suspicion. "I'm smiling. I'm happy. Everything's okay, I promise."

She glanced at her group of friends who seemed to be waiting for her, before looking back at me.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure that I'm okay. I think that I would know if something was wrong." I grinned legitimately this time. "Now go, I don't want you to keep your friends waiting forever." Her face softened at that and she stepped forward to give me a short hug before backing away.

"Okay Jaune, but you know you can always talk to me about anything. We're twins, remember? That means we tell each other everything." She smiled as she said this, and I smiled back, knowing she was right. Noticing that I looked to be feeling better, and I truly was, she turned to go to her waiting friends. I watched while they walked away, laughing at something one of them had said, until they exited the front doors of the academy, out of my sight.

I was feeling more confident in myself. No matter what I decide to do for the future, I know that I will always have my family there for me. That's one of the reasons I still attended Asylum, after all.

Nodding to myself, with renewed energy, I made my way to the exit and towards the road that would take me home. Maybe Mom and Dad would have some advice for me when I got there.

* * *

When I walked through the door of the house, I noted that dad's shoes and jacket were by the front door. Which was good, because it meant that he wasn't out on a mission. I also heard someone moving around in the room to my left, the kitchen. So either Violet had made it home and is searching for a snack, or mom was home as well. Kicking my shoes off, I made my way towards the kitchen.

They must have heard me come in too, because I heard mom holler at me, confirming my thoughts.

"Jaune, is that you?"

"Yeah, Mom, be right there."

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw mom facing away from me, messing with something on the stove. Dinner, probably. Juniper Arc was the perfect image of the loving housewife and mother. She had raised 8 kids, almost, to adulthood, and each of them had turned out well. She could get us ready for school, cook breakfast, cure a heartache, and prevent a tantrum all at the same time. I'm not even exaggerating, I've seen her do it, and she does it everyday. But, that's not all she's ever been. Back in her younger days, she was a force to be reckoned with, graduating at the top of her class at Asylum, and then doing the same at Beacon. The only reason she retired from hunting was because she had us. Or so I've been told by dad.

She turned around while I was in the middle of my thoughts. She set whatever was in her hands down, and smiled at me

"How was your first day of classes?"

"It was good." I replied while turning to go put my stuff in my room. Her voice stopped me though.

"Good? That's it? Usually, I can't get you to stop talking about your first day back. Did something happen?" I grimaced. What was it with Arc women and their ability to see through me like I was made of glass?

I turned to reply. "No, nothing happened. I'm just tired. I'll talk to you more about it during dinner." She nodded back, face contorted into thought. "I take it Dad's mission finished early?" I tried to change the topic, before she could needle me for information. She can get scary when she wants to know something. When Violet and I graduate, I'm sure she could join an interrogation unit. The criminals wouldn't know what hit them.

"Yeah, he just got back a couple of hours ago. Apparently the person who sent the request exaggerated the mission so he could get help faster. I think he's in the shower right now." I sighed in relief. Crisis averted for the moment.

"'Kay. Well, I'm gonna lay down for a couple of hours. Holler when dinner's ready." I said as I turned back to the stairs.

"I will, but I want to hear about your day, in detail, when we eat." I grimaced again. See what I mean? Scary. It wasn't even anything bad, but I still felt nervous talking to them about my future. Being the only male child, I often felt like I had to figure things out for myself. I know it's ridiculous, everyone needs help occasionally. I just don't feel comfortable looking weak in front of others, especially when the others are my family. I nodded back all the same.

I climbed the stairs and headed towards the last room in the hallway. Now that all of my sisters had moved away, Mom, Dad, Violet, and I had 7 rooms for all of us, but we still used the same ones we always had. It was weird at first, being the only ones who lived in such a big house, quiet too. Guess I got used to it though, because it didn't really bother me when I only heard silence as I entered my room.

I threw my stuff onto my desk chair and flicked on my radio. I frowned as a song from Achieve Men came on and quickly flicked through the stations to find something else. Satisfied when i found something, I grabbed a book off my desk and hopped onto my bed, wanting to kill a couple hours before I went down for dinner.

I must have dozed off at some point, because I heard mom yelling out for me to come and eat. I lifted my head and glanced down to see that I had fallen asleep with my face on the book. Apparently I had drooled too. I used my hand to wipe the remaining saliva off of the pages before tossing it back onto my desk and heading down the stairs. As I went down the stairs, I heard dad's deep voice reverbing from the kitchen. When I turned the corner after the last step, I noticed that he was talking to Violet. I couldn't see her of course, Noah Arc was a big man, but I saw mom out of the corner of my eye.

Apparently dad hadn't always been that big. Mom has often told us stories of when he used to be nothing more than a beanpole, but he had filled out considerably though his career as a huntsman. From what I've gather from the stories that Scarlett has told me, his size isn't just for looks. He throws his weight around the battlefield, attacking without stop. His considerable Aura and bulk go hand in hand with his fighting style, allowing him to keep up the offensive without worrying about taking too much damage.

Mom was grabbing plates and silverware out of the cabinets and drawers, so I walked over and grabbed the plates from her and helped her set the table. She thanked me and went to the stove to grab dinner. After everyone was seated, and grace was said, mom turned to me with an expectant look on her face, while Violet and dad started eating. I gathered myself and addressed them.

"Mom, Dad." dad put his fork down and faced me. Violet quirked an eyebrow at me, noticing that something was up. "When did you guys decide that you wanted to be Huntsman?" Their faces became more serious, guessing that the talk was going to be important. "Well, I guess I want to know why you guys wanted to become Huntsman, more so than when."

They were silent for a while, thinking of how to answer my question. Dad shifted in his seat and spoke first.

"I'm assuming you're asking us because you've realized that this is your last year before you graduate, right?" I nodded. "Well, I don't think you're going to like my reasoning, but it might help you. As you know, you come from a long line of outstanding Huntsman. Each person in our direct family line has carved their way into the history books, Crocea Mors at their side. Your Grandfather was no different."

I knew this, Cornealus Arc was a master swordsman, just like dad and the rest of our lineage. I hear the stories every time I visit Grandma and Grandpa. I told him this, and he chuckled softly before continuing.

"Just like you Jaune, I grew up hearing stories about how great our ancestors were, and, when I was old enough to hold a sword, I was trained into the ground. Day in and day out I would practice to carry on the legacy. By the time I was old enough to make a decision for my career, there was nothing else for me but to become a Huntsman." I deflated as he finished his explanation. For one, I didn't have the years it would take to become proficient like he had before me. I had one, singular. For another, his answer didn't help me figure out what I wanted to do.

He must have seen the look on my face, because he quickly backtracked, "Now, don't get me wrong, I love my job, and the fact that I get to do it for a living is amazing. I just didn't have the freedom of choice like you guys. That's the whole reason I've been so supportive of your sisters' career paths. I didn't want to force them to do something that the may end up hating later on in life." So _that's_ why he didn't train us all to be huntsman. In the end, it worked out really well for all of my sisters, Violet included, but I still don't think it solves my problem.

"I think you were right Noah." Mom said with a grin. "I don't think that was very helpful" Violet and I laughed at that and dad sheepishly scratched the back of his head. After teasing dad, she turned back to me, expression growing serious. I shifted in my seat, hoping that mom would be able to help me solve my problem.

"While I think that your dad does his job well, and loves it immensely, I think I can help you a little bit more, Jaune. When my parents enrolled me into Asylum, I didn't know what I wanted to do at all. Until, halfway through my first semester, both mom and dad were killed by a wandering pack of Beowolves while I was at school." I sobered up quickly. I knew that mom's parents had died when she was young, but she had never told us the story before.

"When I headed home that day, I arrived to find our house, and several surrounding ones, destroyed. I dropped my stuff and ran as quickly as I could, but was grabbed from behind before I could reach what was left of the front door. I turned to find a blonde haired man a few years older than me, sword strapped to his hip and scratch marks across the armour on his chest. I tried my hardest to pull away from his grasp, but he wouldn't let go, shaking his head. I screamed at him that I had to go and find my parents. I had to do something, anything" Dad reached across the table to grab mom's hand, and I could tell that this was hard for her. I reached up to wipe the tears forming in my eyes.

Mom gathered her composure before continuing. "Your father did his best to calm me down. Eventually I had calmed down enough for him to explain what had happened. Being a small village, we couldn't afford the luxury of having huntsman stand guard every hour of the day. The guards that were stationed at the front gates were cut down before they could even react. The Beowolves attacked everything they could reach, before a small team of huntsman, your father included, could stop them." Mom paused again, grip tightening on dad's hand.

When she started speaking again, her voice was stronger. "Having no other relatives, Cornealus and Elizabeth offered me a place to stay while I finished school. I spent a month or so in a fog, mourning the loss of my parents. That day was the absolute worst that I have ever experienced. I knew that I couldn't let anyone experience what I had. I pestered Cornealus every day the rest of my first year at Asylum, begging him to train me to be a hunter. Each time, he would say that he wouldn't train someone who wasn't a part of his family. One day, he asked me why I wanted to be a hunter so badly. Was it revenge, anger, or did I just want to throw my life away. I told him that I never wanted what happened to me to happen to anyone else. I wanted to protect the world from the evil beasts known as Grimm." Mom turned to look at the mantle above the stove.

"He left the room laughing at me. Before I could yell at him like I wanted to, he came back and threw that sword at me." she nodded to her weapon that rested on the mantle. I glanced at the sword. I'd seen it several times throughout my childhood, but I guess I had never really looked at it. It was beautiful. It had a blade that seemed to be half a hand shorter than Crocea, and thinner. I think I've heard dad call it a jian, or something before. The hilt was simple, wrapped in black leather with a small half guard. I turned back to mom when she began again.

"Nigrum Mors. That's what he told me the name was. Black Death, the sister sword to Yellow Death, carried by only one person in History before me, your great-great-grandmother. From that day forward, I trained. And trained. I trained until I was certain that I could protect those that I held dear to me."

Never had I felt so proud of my mother up to this point. To have such a conviction to trade her future for one of service and protection of others. I looked at Violet seeing the same expression that I'm sure that I was wearing. Her face quickly changed into confusion however, and she turned to mom.

"Mom, I understand why you became a Huntsman, but why did you give it up? I thought that you said that you wanted to protect the world?"

Mom smiled brighter than she had during the discussion when she replied.

"I gave it up, because when I had you guys, you became my world. You were what I needed to protect above all else."

Correction, now I had never felt more proud of my mom.

Maybe I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do with my life yet, but I knew how I could find out. When I found something that made me feel the same conviction that my mother had felt, then I knew that it is what I'm meant to do.

 **A/N Thank you all for reading chapter 2, and I hope you all have a great day!**


	3. Chapter 3: The First Scar

**Hello again. Thank you to everyone who read and followed the story. It makes me happy to see that some people like the way that I wrote enough to follow.**

 **Also, I wanted to explain something real quick. The reason why I don't like my writing style, like I mentioned before the first chapter is because I feel like it's too slow. I also don't like how formal it comes across. That's something that I've been working on for this story.**

 **This chapter will be a little more build-up and story development/world building.**

 **That being said, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope that you enjoy reading it!**

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 _Some people see things that are and ask, why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, why not? -George Bernard Shaw_

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 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The First Scar**

For two months I have searched, and looked, and dreamt to come to a single conclusion; finding a career path is hard. Really, I should be thankful that we are experiencing such a time of peace, so that we could have problems like this. Right now though, I really wish Dad would have just raised me the way he was. But no, he had to be "responsible", because he had something called "morals" and wanted us to have "the freedom of choice".

I shook my head loosely at my desk, derailing myself from that train of thought. This wasn't my dad's fault, it had worked for my seven sisters after all. I looked up from the monitor stationed at my desk, looking around the room. I saw Mrs. Hazel speaking with a group of my classmates near the back. The students she was speaking with had long ago chosen their path. If I remember correctly, they were some of the few who wanted to further their education. They planned to attend one of the few academies of higher education that weren't combat related. Technically, Amber attended one in Atlas during her internship, before being offered a spot with Atlas Military Engineering (AME).

I scanned the rest of the class, who were all working on things related to their field of choice. They had all made their decision, whether it be a life long-goal, or something they had discovered more recently with the help of Mrs. Hazel. That was another sore spot for me. Mrs. Hazel has been as helpful as she could be in the hour that she had us each day. She would answer any question I had and even point me in a new direction when I needed it. Once, she had given me a list of possible careers that she thought I might fit into. The list had not been short, and had obviously taken time to create.

It didn't take me long to go through it though.

I appreciated the thought, and effort she put into the list, but each career had something that made it feel like I wouldn't belong. Each path required an over-emphasis in something that I lacked, be it strength, skill, or knowledge. It wasn't that I didn't have what it took, it was that I didn't have enough. I'm working on that though.

These past two months, I have thrown myself into schooling. I worked harder than I ever had before. At school, I would note down anything that was said or written by a teacher, participated in class discussions where I normally would have shied from in the past, and increased the amount of physical training I did outside of combat class. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do, but that meant that literally everything was a possibility at this point. I was already behind, so I needed to get better at everything. That way, when I found what I wanted to do, I would have some sort of skill set to start with.

At home, I studied, worked, and trained until I was too tired. Video games and comics were long forgotten. My future was more important than my hobbies this year.

I scratched my chest absentmindedly as Mrs. Hazel passed me, apparently finished talking with my classmates. I blinked and looked up when she turned and stopped in front of my desk.

"Jaune, have you found another potential profession?"

I glanced down at the webpage that I had left up. It was a site with information on video game designers and what skills were needed. Who said my hobbies couldn't be my future?

"I found something, but nothing concrete yet." I responded as I scratched at my chest again.

She glanced over the top of the laptop, and glanced back at me, urging me to explain my reasoning.

"It's always been a hobby of mine. I figured that I might do something that I enjoy."

She nodded. "There's nothing wrong with that, everyone should enjoy what they do for a living. However, you do realize that only the best of the best can make a career in video game design. It is much more than simple programming. It's similar to acting or singing in that aspect. Only good movies and songs make money"

"Like I said, nothing concrete."

She nodded once more as the bell rang, accepting my answer. "If you have any questions, you know where to find me."

I packed my stuff as she dismissed the class. I met Violet at the door and we headed to our next class together which was combat class and the only other one we shared outside of Homeroom. We were silent as we walked, but it was not an uncomfortable one. I wouldn't have noticed even if it was. Not because of my social awkwardness, but because I was lost in thought, something I found myself doing a lot more lately.

I glanced up to see the doors to the field where our class was held and my pulse quickened a little. That was another thing that was new. I found myself looking forward to combat class more so than not. With my efforts in my training, in and out of class, I've been steadily getting better. I wasn't good enough to consider being a huntsman, but I wasn't a pushover anymore either. I'd place myself somewhere in the middle of the pack.

I scratched at my chest again as Violet and I separated and headed towards our respective changing rooms. The itch wasn't bad, but it wouldn't lessen no matter how much I scratched. I probably picked up some poison ivy or something again. I put the itch out of my mind as I pulled my hoodie over my head and grabbed the protective armour that each of us were given at the start of the year. It wasn't much, but it would keep the practice weapons from hurting us too much.

Putting my hoodie in my locker, I grabbed my training sword and headed back to the field to meet our teacher, Quin Hazel.

Mr. Hazel was a rotund old man. He used to be a huntsman, but age and home cooked meals made sure that it was apparent that those years were long behind him. Despite his appearance, the man did know his stuff, and was still a hell of a crackshot. Every year, a freshman would question his ability to teach a combat class, and in response, he would sling his rifle of his back and shoot one of the targets on the opposite end of the field. 300 yards away. Without looking. Blowing the head off it's shoulders. Needless to say, students listened when he talked from then on out.

"Pair up, children!" Mr. Hazel's voice rang through the field, ending conversation. Everyone moved to pair up and face off. Another sparring day it seemed.

I glanced around at my classmates until my eyes met someone else's. That's how we decided our opponents in class. Weird, right? It kept us from facing people we were comfortable with however.

My eyes locked on another pair shortly and we made our way to an empty space in the field. My opponent was someone I had faced before. He stood about my height, but that's where the similarities ended. He had brown hair that reached down to his shoulders, carried a bastard sword, and could definitely could use it better than I could. He was muscular, indicating a strength I didn't have, but that didn't mean his speed was handicapped by this. He was one of the few in our class who strove to be a Hunstman.

He nodded his head at me "Jaune"

"Vermillion" I nodded back.

We both got into our stances, preparing for the signal to start. My pulse quickened as my grip tightened on the wooden sword and shield I carried. If I wanted to show that I had indeed made strides in my training, I would need to fight on par with him. My chest burned.

I knew that I couldn't beat him head on with strength, so I would need to be defensive and strike only when I had an opening. Hopefully I could tire him out and get him to slip up. A war of attrition it would seem.

"Begin!"

Vermillion dashed forward at the signal, two-handed sword raised high. I was prepared, having raised my shield as soon as the match began. I was rewarded with the dull thud of wood hitting wood and a jarring sensation in my arm. I pushed the sword back and jumped to the side. I repositioned my shield in front of me, ready for him to come in again.

The fight was going exactly as I thought it would. Vermillion would charge and attack, putting his full strength behind each attack. I blocked more than I didn't, but those that did hit, hurt, even if we were just using practice weapons. A testament to his strength and training I suppose, but he was tiring. I could see it in the way his weapon lowered and his attacks slowed.

The next time he came in, his sword hit my shield and I pushed back as hard as I could, throwing him off balance. He stumbled, an opening! Before I could swing my sword, my chest exploded in pain. The itching sensation had disappeared, replaced by a burning that caused me to drop my shield. I looked down at my chest just in time to see a wooden sword coming in from the side and next thing I knew, I was staring at the ground with a firm grip around one of my elbows.

"Jaune! Are you okay man?" Vermillion's voice reached me, but he must have hit me harder than I thought because when I looked at him, my vision blurred and I could have sworn he had red hair. I also could have sworn it wasn't cloudy when we started practice.

"Jaune, say something."

I shook my head and my vision steadied but the burning in my chest hadn't gone away, only lessened.

"I'm fine, I think. You just took me by surprise is all." The panic on his face lessened, but he still looked worried. He offered me a hand, which I took, and the world seemed to tilt. Luckily he still had a grip on my hand or I would have fallen again.

"I'm sorry man, I thought you were gonna block it like the rest of my swings. If I would have known it was gonna connect, I would have held back a little."

"Nothing to worry about it was a spar, things like this happen."

Taking me at my word, and satisfied that I didn't seem to be injured, he nodded. His eyes shifted past mine and that was all the warning I got before my ears were assaulted.

"Arc, Stronghold! What are you doing standing around?" I quickly turned around to face Mr. Hazel, wincing at the volume of his voice. "Last time I checked this was combat class, not couples therapy. Why are you standing here talking?"

"I was just making sure that he was okay sir. I caught him off guard and hit him in the ribs." Vermillion answered in a tone like one would a captain.

Mr. Hazel's eyes scanned quickly over my form.

"Raise your arms, boy."

I nodded and did as he said, but stopped before I could fully raise my left arm, pain coming from both my ribs and my chest. He sighed at my wince.

"Arc, there's no denying that you've improved vastly since your freshman year. You even held your own before Stronghold downed you."

So he was watching the fight.

"But, can't we go one week without you hurting yourself. Sometimes I wonder why Noah doesn't just unlock your aura to protect you from yourself."

"Hey, I don't get hurt every week." I said defensively.

"You tripped on your shield last week" he pointed out.

"Yeah but-

"And the week before that, your opponent punched you in the face."

"In my defense, she has a mean right hook."

"I saw you slam your head into your locker last week dude." Vermillion decided to add. I shot him a glare. He grinned sheepishly. I looked back to Mr. Hazel to find him chuckling.

"I'm getting better, you said so yourself. I'm not trying to get hurt on purpose."

He stopped laughing, but the grin was still there.

"Be that as it may, you're in no shape to spar again today. Go get changed and head to the nurse's office to get checked out."

"What do you mean, I can still fight."

He grabbed my arm and quickly lifted up.

"Ow!" I ripped my arm out of his grip, pain flaring in my side. "Okay, I get it, I'll go get it looked at." I grumbled, rubbing my ribs.

"Good." He turned. "Now Mr. Stronghold let's find you another sparring partner."

I quickly moved to the locker room and took my armour off. My ribs did hurt, but not as much as my pride. I knew I was getting better, but it doesn't help when it takes a couple days to heal before I could spar again. Man, I wish I had my Aura unlocked.

I shook my head and pulled my hoodie over my head, grimacing at the pain. Realistically, I know that only Huntsman and Huntresses need their Aura unlocked, but it would be useful nevertheless

Shutting my locker, I headed back towards the school and the nurse's office. It wouldn't hurt to get it looked at, even if it didn't hurt that much.

I reached the office shortly and reached my hand forward to knock.

"Come in!" the muffled reply came.

I pushed the door open and saw an empty room. Well, empty as far as people go. There were two chairs to my right, a bunch of cabinets above a counter to my left, and an exam table in front of me with a chair beside it. There was also a door leading to a bathroom at the end of the counters. I took a seat in one of the chairs. The bathroom door opened up shortly after and the school nurse, Mrs. Boone, came in drying her hands. She had to duck slightly, so her ears wouldn't catch the door frame.

Her height always amazed me, with my eyes just reaching shoulder level. She stood about 6'4'', and that was before you accounted for the fact that she was a rabbit Faunus. She was also fairly young. I don't know how old she is, but she couldn't be more than Scarlet's age.

She tossed the rag she was using onto the counter and took notice of me in the chair.

"Jaune, It's good to see you again. What do you need me to look at this time." She asked, gesturing for me to move to the examination table.

The way she worded it reminded me of what Mr. Hazel had just said to me. I knew she wasn't being mean, but maybe I did get hurt a little too often.

"Nothing much, really. I just had an accident in Combat class and Mr. Hazel wanted me to come get it looked at."

"Understandable." She put her stethoscope in her ears and moved it to my chest. "Tell me about it."

As she took the rest of my vitals, I relayed what happened. She hmmed at spots, but otherwise kept silent.

"So your chest started hurting before he hit you?"

I nodded as she pushed me onto my back, pushing around on me, checking for something. I winced as she pushed on my ribs. She took notice of that and leaned back in the chair that she was seated at.

"So your ribs are still tender. Does your chest hurt now?"

I sat back up and felt around like she had, only wincing at my ribs.

"I guess it doesn't, just where I took the hit."

"Okay, from what I can tell, you don't have anything that won't heal up in a couple days, but go ahead and remove your shirt and hoodie so I can take a look."

I did as she said, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks as I did so. I was a hormonal teenage boy after all and Mrs. Boone is definitely not unattractive. When I had my shirt halfway off I heard an intake of breath and looked over to see the surprise on Mrs. Boones face.

"That wasn't there the last time you had a check up."

I glanced down to see what she was talking about and dropped my shirt in surprise. My pulse quickened and my breath shortened. No, that most definitely was not there. Running diagonally from my collar bone to down below my right pec was an angry red scar, about a half inch thick.

"Jaune." I whipped head back up to her. The panic must have been apparent in my eyes, because she place a hand on my arm. "I'm assuming that didn't happen in today's spar?"

I shook my head frantically. "N-no. I don't think so. It wasn't there this morning when I got dressed either. What happened, I could have sworn Vermillion hit me in the side."

"Jaune, I need you to calm down. Deep breaths." I complied as she reached forward and ran a finger over the scar. There was no pain, but it still felt weird to have it touched when it wasn't even supposed to be there.

"So this is something that's appeared very recently?" I nodded, trying to keep my breathing steady. "There's also nothing that could have caused it?" I nodded again.

"Not that I know of…"

She sighed. "Okay. I think I know what happened." Mrs. Boone stood up, calmly walking towards the door, talking as she did. "Jaune, keep taking deep breaths and stay calm. Everything is okay and you're not in any danger, but I need to go make a call." She opened the door looking back a last time. "I'll be right back and I'll tell you what's going on when I've confirmed my suspicions."

The door clicked, and I started panicking again. There was no pain, but the fact that there was a cut on my chest proved that something was going on. Well, the proof of a cut anyway. I ran my finger along the scar. It wasn't jagged or raised, but long and straight. There's no way that the wood weapons we used in sparring practice could have caused this, even if they had splintered or something.

I laid back down trying to calm my breathing again. This was terrifying. What could cause a cut that big that healed in less than the few hours I've been at school. Also, the pain that I had experienced was mild compared to what it should have been for a scar this big.

My thoughts were interrupted when Mrs. Boone walked back in and sat back down in her chair, grabbing my hand as she did.

"I found out what happened, Jaune. I've also contacted your parents to come and get you."

I looked at her confusedly. "Why? What is it?"

She took a deep breath and looked into my eyes.

"It's a soul scar."

All of the breath I had seemed to leave my body. A soul scar. A scar that my soul imprints on my body, in short. It only happens when a person's soul experiences something traumatic enough to manifest as something physical. One example is a case of Aura overload. An event where a person's soul receives too much Aura for their body to handle. The only other possibility..

"My Soulmate!" I shouted, trying to push myself up out of the examination table. Mrs. Boone's grip on my hand stopped me from getting too far. She pulled me back and pushed me back down on the table.

"Jaune, calm down! Let me talk before you rush off."

I complied, but only because her hand on my chest wouldn't let me move.

"I told you that I need you to stay calm."

"How can I be calm at a time like this!? My Soulmate is out there somewhere, probably dead and I'm stuck here in this stupid office!" I shouted back. I felt a sharp sting in my cheek a second later. I raised a hand to my cheek, surprised that she had slapped me.

"Would you even know where to look if I let you leave right now?"

My anger abated quickly, but I could still feel the pinpricks of tears in my eyes. I shook my head slowly.

"I still have to do something. I've never even met them, and now I might not ever get the chance to." I leaned back against the bed.

Mrs. Boone's face softened and she moved back to her chair, seeing that I wasn't going to up and run. She kept her hand on mine though, just in case.

"I understand Jaune, that's why I have contacted your parents. They're closer to you than me, and they'll know more about this than I. They should be here shortly."

We sat there for another 15 minutes. Her, trying to keep me calm and me bouncing between sorrow, panic, and trying to wrap my head around the situation.

I looked towards the door when it opened. Dad must have been on a mission, because mom came in with Violet in tow. She took one look at my chest and ran forward, wrapping me in her arms. Tears I didn't know I was holding in burst out. She just held me, running her hand across my back and through my hair.

When my tears subsided, she pulled back and looked at Mrs. Boone, silently asking for privacy. She nodded back and quietly left the room. I turned to see that Violet had replaced her in the chair, my hand in hers. She looked on the verge of tears too.

Before I could stop myself, I asked the question that I feared the answer to.

"M-mom, are they gone?" I reached up to my chest feeling the new scar there. She glanced down and then back up at me, eyes still misty.

"I don't know, honey." My eyes fell at that. Violet squeezed my hand. "But, you can find out."

"How?" I asked quickly

"Are you sure you want to know? This could be a heavy burden that you have to live with Jaune. Or, you can not find the answer, and at least believe that they are out there, somewhere."

I thought about it for all about two seconds. I needed to know.

"I need to know. How do I find out?"

Mom sighed and took my hand. She placed it on my chest.

"Lay your palm flat against your scar. The scar is proof of the connection between you and them, and, more importantly, the connection between your souls."

I listened with rapt attention.

"I need you to concentrate on your Soulmate. You don't need to know what they look like, or anything about them, you just need to think of them, and then you'll know."

I closed my eyes and kept my hand flat against the scar. I thought about the concept of soulmates and then my Soulmate in particular. I tried to imagine what they would look like, or anything that would give me the slightest idea of what was happening.

Nothing. I couldn't feel anything but my chest.

My hand clenched and I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks and farther.

Then I felt it. Something small, an emotion that wasn't my own. At least I don't think it was my own. I felt, well hopelessness. Besides my own. It's hard to explain. I concentrated on it, pushing myself to it. The feelings of the area around me faded. I couldn't feel Violet's hand, The bed underneath me, nothing. All there was, was the emotions that I felt and the feeling of hopelessness

All of a sudden, my chest felt like it was on fire, my lungs ached, and I felt several emotions that I'm certain weren't mine. Anger, confusion, hurt, and hopelessness. I also felt wind flowing around me and my legs were aching, like I was running. Lastly, the panic. It was almost enough to make me hyperventilate.

I couldn't take it. I screamed in my mind and all the emotions stopped.

No, they didn't stop they changed. I felt confusion and uncertainty, still all underlined by the panic. All this was followed by my own confusion. Did the emotions respond to me?

The running feeling came back again, but the emotions stayed the same. So, I screamed again. The running stopped once more.

I opened my eyes and saw my mom looking back and the feelings returned around me. I smiled, and she responded in kind. I didn't have time to celebrate though, so I grabbed my chest again and concentrated. It was easier this time now that I knew what I was looking for.

I felt the panic almost immediately. Then the running sensation. Then the confusion. I needed to help them, but how? I couldn't be there to protect them and the only thing I could do was scream in my mind..

Wait. If by screaming I could let them feel something then maybe I could make them feel my other emotions as well.

I concentrated as hard as I could on the emotions that I wanted them to feel. Peace, first and foremost. The panic lessened. My breath hitched. I quickly followed with comfort, safety, joy, love; anything that would make the panic go away.

I don't know how long I spent sending the emotions, but it was working. Slowly, the panic started to fade, replaced by happiness and, most importantly, peace. They knew that I was there. Maybe not me specifically, but they knew that someone was trying to help them.

For awhile, things stayed the same. I was pushing my emotions forward, and they were still running. Then, the wind feeling slowed, and peace and happiness were replaced by excitement and joy.

I waited to see if i could find the reason for the joy. Shortly, the emotions and feelings started to change again. The biggest one was contentment. Then, I felt as if I was back in the Nurse's office, but I'm not. I feel as if I'm lying against something soft and my head on something softer.

A bed! They had found a place to rest.

My muscles felt sore and tired, and the pain was still ever present in my chest, sings that they were still very much in pain, but the emotions that I was feeling balanced the pain out.

The last thing I remember feeling as I pulled away from the connection, was gratitude. I was also hit with the smell of lavender. I breathed it in, the scent reminding me of many of the perfumes that my sisters wore. The connection disappeared and I opened my eyes.

I saw darkness. I blinked and my eyes started to adjust. I saw a ceiling and a window, my bedroom ceiling to be exact. I smiled and rolled over to find my arm underneath Violet's head. I must have been in the connection for awhile. Long enough for my mom to bring me home and put me to bed at least.

I closed my eyes again. I was exhausted.

I drifted off to sleep, happy that my Soulmate was alive. They, no _she_ , was going to make it.

 _'Lavender perfume, huh.'_

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 ** _A/N Thank you for reading the third chapter! Now that I've got a feeling of balance between work and writing, I've developed a tentative release schedule. My goal is to release at least a chapter a week, on Fridays, but that could change. I might release a chapter in two day, or later than a week. You should expect to have a new chapter no later than every two weeks however._**

 ** _Until next time, you guys have a great day!_**


	4. Chapter 4: Preparation

**Update: I went back through and noticed that this chapter was riddled with spelling/grammar errors, so this update is to correct those. Sorry for everyone that got an alert!**

 **Hello again! Thank you everybody for reading the last chapter of SoH. I'm glad to hear that everybody is enjoying it, and I also like to hear all of your guys' ideas on what's going to happen. I don't like to give things away, but I might "slip up" every once and a while so it's good to see that you guys can catch it.**

 **Also, I wanted to thank Chickenspoon42. Well, I want to thank all of you, but your comment in particular has helped me. Not just because it was "positive", but because you gave me some feedback that I can build off of. Thank you for that!**

 **One thing before we continue to the story. This chapter is going to have a lot of time skips, because we're moving closer to the main story line. I will highlight everything that is important while still trying to stick to the flow of the story.**

 **With out further adieu;**

 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Preparation**

"You're sure this is what you want to do?"

I looked into the ocean blue eyes that matched my own, and thought about the panic that my Soulmate had felt that night. Never again did I want her to feel like that, or anybody else for that matter. No one deserved to feel that, the primal fear of death.

"More than anything."

Mom put her hand on my shoulder, face softening into a gentle smile.

"You have a lot of ground to make up, Jaune. Combat experience isn't the only thing that you've missed out on the past few years. Students your age have been preparing most of their life for this. You have a less than 8 months to match them, or at least most of them."

I nodded, completely aware of what needed to happen for my dream to come true. I glanced around the living room, eyes catching Dad's and Violet's. Dad's face was set in a proud smile and Violet couldn't seem to sit still, excitement coursing through her. I brought my attention back to Mom, face filled with determination.

"I'm ready."

Her smile grew, and she moved her hand from my shoulder to my forehead, the other being placed over my heart. I closed my eyes and her voice took on a solemn tone.

 _"For it is in living that we achieve direction. Through this, we become pillars of strength to protect those that can't themselves. Restricted only by the capacity of thy heart, I release your soul, and by my sword, free thee."_

At the end of her words, my skin tingled and my muscles tightened. At one moment I could feel everything and nothing. I was everything and nothing. Then, it faded, and I breathed in. My lungs felt fuller than they ever had and my body felt lighter. I slowly opened my eyes and I could instantly tell the difference. Colors seemed brighter, shapes were more defined, and the air was clearer.

"Wow.."

I turned my head to see Violet, expression of awe planted on her face and I smiled.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No," she giggled, "but that was crazy. One moment you were the normal and lanky Jaune,"

"Hey!"

"And then the next you were like the freakin' sun! I couldn't even look at you." She turned to Mom and Dad. "Is that normal?"

I looked back at them to for an answer, because I was curious as well. I'm not exactly well versed in Aura awakening.

"Expected?" Dad responded. At some point he had made his way to mom and put an arm around her. "Being an Arc, yes, I did expect him to have a large amount of Aura. But, normal? Definitely not." His smile grew as he continued talking. "Even for an Arc, you have a very large Aura, son. Definitely more than I did at your age."

I felt a sense of pride stir in my chest. Maybe I did have a shot at this.

"But," Mom cut in. "A large Aura is only a good thing if you know how to use it. Your Aura can disappear just as fast as a normal person's if you don't know how to protect yourself."

And there goes the pride. I looked down at my hands. I could still the residual effect of the awakening running through my body.

"I already know that, but I can train to make sure that doesn't happen." I looked back up to see dad walking towards me. He placed a hand on my shoulder before passing and made his way to the kitchen.

"And that, my son, is exactly what we're going to do. After dinner we're all going to go to the back yard to see what we're working with. Maybe we can whip you into something resembling a Huntsman."

I cheered excitedly. My dad was going to train me, and he was like the best huntsman I knew! There's no way I wasn't going to be ready for a hunter academy.

I smiled and followed Dad to the kitchen, completely missing the mischievous smirk on Mom's face.

* * *

I face planted into my pillow, every muscle in my body aching in protest. Two hours of the worst training I had ever experienced. It's been like this for the past month, ever since Mom unlocked my Aura. Since I wasn't going to be using Crocea Mors, Dad decided that I would use as many different weapons as I could to see if I could find one that fits. Twice a day, in the morning and at night, we would train for a couple hours with a different weapon each day.

I know what you're thinking, that's not that bad right? It's just like combat class except with a bunch of new weapons. You'd be wrong. Instead of doing something sensible, like facing Violet, he decided that I'd face him each time. It's what he did with his father, and what his father did, and so on and so forth.

I don't think he holds back.

There is some good news with all the training though. I've found a few weapons that I really like. The one that I'm leaning towards right now is something similar to Crocea Mors. I think it stems from the fact that I've used a sword and shield the past three years in combat class, so I'm comfortable with it.

The other weapon was kind of a surprise to me, and apparently to my dad. I picked it up a couple days ago from the collection of practice weapons that dad has. The sword is long enough that I can take and hold it straight in front of me and the tip of the blade grazes the ground. The blade itself is really thin, I'd say about a couple inches across, and is only sharp on one side. The only thing I don't like about it is that I don't have anything to defend myself if I leave an opening.

When I first fought with it, I was surprised by the lightness of it. I also like the fact that the length gave me more opportunities to strike at a distance. Dad says that I would have a natural advantage when fighting people that have similar weapons to him and Scarlett.

He also said not to get cocky because the advantage wouldn't mean anything if I couldn't fight with it. I think that he was just upset that it was the only weapon that I could hit him with.

Maybe I could talk to the forge master tomorrow and see if I could get some ideas. I only had a few more months till I graduated after all.

As I laid there, I could feel the ache in my muscles start to lessen. I never thought that I would be so happy to have Aura. Which is a crazy thing in and of itself. I mean look at me. Here I am, training to become a Huntsman, my Aura unlocked. Who would've thought?

Thoughts of my new career path made me think of the reason why I wanted to be a huntsman, like it had so often in the past two weeks. A couple of months ago, I wouldn't have thought that someone I didn't know would mean so much to me. I also didn't think that I would be getting my butt kicked on a daily basis, but look at me now.

I raised my hand to scar, almost instinctively, like I had almost every night the past few weeks. The connection that I felt with her was something that I hadn't felt with my family. They're great, don't get me wrong, but without any words at all I feel so close to my Soulmate. It's like we get each other, a complete understanding.

I closed my eyes and slightly tugged at the bond and instantly felt my surroundings change. It's a lot easier now than it has been in the past. The first thing that I felt that I knew wasn't of me, was the smell of lavender. The smell brought back thoughts of when I first made contact with her. I could feel myself smile, well as much as I could at the moment.

My thoughts were interrupted when I felt her emotions start to kick in. Irritation, confusion, recognition, then happiness/contentment came through in short succession. Apparently I woke her up. 'Sorry' I thought, trying to convey my thoughts as emotions. I felt her emotions shrug at me as if to say 'it's alright'. It was sort of a mix between understanding, joy, and placation. I sighed in relief. Sometimes she can get pretty irritated when I wake her up.

Then I noticed that "our" whole body was sore, like I had just spent the day fighting. "Our" chest was fine, it didn't hurt that bad, but I panicked a little all the same.

'What happened?'

Amusement, joy, and irritation came through. 'Nothing to worry about'

Nothing to worry about? I'm fairly certain the last time I checked on her, her whole body wasn't in pain.

Exasperation and happiness came through. She was sighing at me.

Well sorry that I wanted to make sure that you were okay.

I felt "our" body roll off the bed and take a few steps. Then I felt something in my hand. It felt like a handle to something. The weight told me that it was something long.

Oh, a weapon. Why was she showing me a weapon?

She sighed again.

I felt "our" hand move back and forth, swinging the weapon repetitively.

Oh, training. Okay, that makes sense.

I felt my panic ease as she went to lay back down. Fatigue, tiredness, amusement, and happiness. 'Can I go back to sleep now?'

Yeah, I could do that. I was pretty tired myself.

Happiness and amusement came through. I've come to learn that these emotions represent me. They were also what she used to say goodbye, which could get kind of confusing sometimes.

I sent one last burst of emotions through before I broke the bond, letting her know that I would talk to her soon.

I opened my eyes and was back in my own room. I rolled over and got ready to sleep. As I did, I noticed that my muscles were no longer sore like they were before. I sighed, knowing that I would be in the same predicament tomorrow. At least I was getting better, seven more months of this and I know I'll be ready.

I smiled and closed my eyes.

* * *

The final bell of the day rang and I hurriedly packed my stuff. I waved a goodbye to the teacher as I passed him, barely catching him remind us of our homework due the next class period. I only had a little while before the forge master left for the day, so I ran out of the school hoping to catch him before he did.

I crossed the combat field, weaving between the students who had combat as their last class. I was stopped before I could cross the field.

"Arc," Mr Hazel's voice rang. "I'm glad I could catch you. Come here for a second."

I looked over to the forge and the back at Mr. Hazel. I guess I had a second to talk, so I made my way over to him.

"What'd you need, Mr. Hazel?" I asked, trying not to let my impatience bleed through. He had the same expression on his face as he always did, so I don't know if it worked.

"I heard through the teacher vine that you'd finally decided upon a career. Is this true?"

I nodded quickly. "Yeah. I've decided that I want to be a Huntsman." I couldn't help the smile that slipped onto my face.

He was silent for awhile, like he was lost in thought. I quickly glanced towards the forge and then back. His eyes followed mine, and his expression broke into a small smile.

"Well, I can't say that I'm disappointed in the path that you've chosen, my boy. I'm sure that you're aware of the struggle that you have in front of you? A few months to make up for several years of training."

My smile dimmed, as did his, but I nodded all the same.

"Outside of actual fighting, you also have to apply to an academy and get a letter of recommendation. Oh, and we can't forget that you have to make your weapon before you graduate, which, if I'm not wrong, that's where you're headed now?" He finished, his question repeated by the movement of his eyes towards the forge.

"Yeah," I answered " I've got nothing solid yet, but I was hoping that the forge master could help me figure something out."

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, I'm sure that Ben will want to leave shortly." He grabbed my hand in both of his, placing something in it. "But know this Jaune. If the last few months are anything to go by, I think you can do it." He let go of my hand, eyes twinkling as he turned to walk away.

I looked down to find, an envelope? I brought my other hand up and turned it over. On the front of the envelope was the return address, which was Mr. Hazel's here at the academy, but the destination was what caught my eye. It was addressed to "Dr. Ozpin, Beacon Academy, Vale, Vale" My eyes widened a little.

Of course Mr. Hazel would know the headmaster of Beacon. But, the question is, why did he give me his mail? Did he want me to mail it for him? Was I supposed to read it first? It didn't make sense.

I looked back up to find that I was alone on the field. I stuffed the envelope into my pocket. I could get answers to those questions later, but now, I needed to answer another question. What weapon was I going to forge?

I headed towards the forge, which was more of a dingy looking shack now that I thought about it, hoping that the forge master was still in.

When I reached it, I raised my hand and knocked on the sheet metal that resembled a door. 'Ben Lilly' was scrawled across the door in sloppy handwriting. I jumped when a loud crash answered my knock followed by silence. I waited a second, before knocking again.

"Hello, is the forge master in at the moment?"

"Yes, yes, I'm here" came the muffled reply. "Now quit making that racket and come inside."

I complied and opened the door, which shuttered like it could fall off at any moment. When it didn't, I stepped inside and shut it behind me. That's about as far as I got though. Not because I didn't want to go further in, but because I couldn't. The ground, and everything else for that matter, was a cluttered mess. Half forged weapons and armor strewn about haphazardly. I glanced to the lone figure in the room, a short and balding man fiddling about with one of the pieces. He glanced up and waved me over, before resuming what he was doing.

I looked at the pieces once more, shrugged, and tiptoed my way through the mess. He didn't acknowledge my presence immediately, instead he continued working on the piece, a chest plate I could see now. After a few moments he sighed and scratched his head and turned to me.

"Alright, you've got my attention, what can I do for you…?"

"Jaune" I supplied

"Ah yes, Jaune Arc. I've been expecting you. What can I do for you Jaune?"

"Well, I was hoping to talk to you for a little bit, but I can come back if you're busy." I said, gesturing towards the chest plate he had been working on.

He looked back down at the table and picked it up, shaking it a little.

"What, this? I was just fiddling with this before I headed home." He tossed it behind him, the plate crashing into a pile of similar pieces. I cringed at the sound.

"Now that that's out of the way, why don't we get down to business." he said, hopping up onto the table and taking a seat on the edge. He was now eye level with me.

"I heard that you had decided to travel the path of a Hunter. Naturally, you'd need to come and see me to get a weapon forged before you graduate. So what are we going with? Some gunblades like your sister? Maybe a short sword like your mother? Some more armor like your father?" He looked me up and down and then shook his head. He got up and walked over to a nearby workbench, grabbing something before returning to me.

"No, no, no. Just by looking at you I know that's not going to work. Maybe a set of armor later…" He kept mumbling to himself while going around me.

Suddenly, he grabbed one of my arms and held it out to the side, placing a measuring tape along side it, before moving on to the other. I stopped him when he pulled my legs shoulder length apart.

"Ah, sir" I squeaked. Well if that wasn't embarrassing. Stupid puberty. He paused and looked up to me.

"I was thinking that I just wanted to go with something similar to Crocea. It's what I'm most comfortable with." He stood back up, putting him about level with my chest, and gave me a questioning look. "Sir."

"Ah, yes. The Yellow Death. A sword said to have been forged by the king himself during the color wars. Introduction of basic mecha-shift properties, with a blade said to never dull, no matter how many times it has been sharpened. Hmm…" He stroked his chin and walked back to the workbench, before turning around again.

"Nope, not going to work."

"What do you mean it's not going to work?" I asked defensively. "I'm an Arc, and we've wielded it for generations. I was born for a weapon like that."

"Correction, your sister was born for a weapon like that. You, on the other hand," He looked me up and down again, "are suited for something else. Your base says that you would do great with a shield, able to hold your ground against any hit and able to push off an attack quickly. Your lanky frame tells me a different story. The sword would leave you at a disadvantage. You wouldn't be able to put enough power behind it for at least another couple of years. At least until you've trained enough to build up some muscle."

My anger started to fade at his argument, but I was still adamant about honoring my family in my weapon choice.

"That's what I want though. I don't care how long it takes me to be good with it."

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of how you might be able to use it in the future, but answer me this. Will you be proficient enough with it to impress one of academy heads? Will they want you to attend their school based solely off your prowess with sword and shield?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure.."

"I'm not either, that is exactly why we need to find you the best weapon we can. Remember, a Hunter's weapon is an extension of themselves, and therefore, an extension of their soul. Now tell me, isn't there anything else that you have taken a liking to? Something that you feel that fit you, even if you don't know why?"

I thought about it for a second, before I remembered the long sword that I had been using against dad.

"Well, there is this one weapon, but I'm not even sure what it's called."

"What does it look like?"

I held my hand out at about shoulder height, "It stands about this tall, hilt and all. It's really thin and is only sharp on one edge."

"Ah, a katana. Yes, yes." His eyes brightened slightly. "Why don't you tell me what it is you like about the weapon?"

I thought back to my spars with dad.

"Well, I like the fact that it's really light and long. I feel that I can swing it faster than a regular sword and I really like the range of motion that it gives me." His eyes looked to my arms again and he took out a piece of paper, scribbling something down. "But, none of that matters if I can't defend myself."

"Yes, yes." He scribbled again, occasionally looking back at me. "This just might work."

"Sir?"

"Alright, Mr. Arc." He said, turning to me, paper still in his hands. "I think we're done here for today. I've got to start forging your weapon after all. I'll send for you in a month or so when I've completed your weapon." He walked forward and started pushing me towards the exit, my feet banging against the mess that was still present.

"Sir?" I questioned again. "Don't I get to know? I mean, I guess you'd know best, but I sorta need to know what I need to train with. Do I keep using a sword and shield, or that katana thing you mentioned?" I looked back at him and saw a twinkling in his eyes, and a smile on his face.

"Why not both?"

* * *

A month quickly passed, winter break coming and going with it. In that time, I feel as if I have taken huge strides to becoming a Huntsman. Since it was winter break, I had nothing better to do but to train with dad, and mom when dad wasn't available. I continued to train with both sword and shield, and the katana like Mr. Lilly had told me.

The letter that Mr. Hazel handed me, turned out to be a recommendation letter. I was so happy that he thought I was good enough to personally recommend me to Beacon. No, I didn't read it, I'm not that nosy. I actually found out when I asked him about it after I mailed it.

With his recommendation letter written for Beacon specifically, it kind of cut down on my choices of academies, but that didn't bother me at all. Beacon is where mom, dad and Scarlett went, after all. So, I had gathered all of the necessary items and mailed my application to Beacon. Now all I had to do was wait, and continue training.

I shuffled around the couch and felt something poke me in the side. I looked down and smiled brightly. Giddy, even after two weeks. Another thing that happened, and probably the most exciting, was that I got my weapon! I can still remember the moment that Mr. Lilly laid it in my hands.

 _I knocked on the door to the forge, excitement coursing through me. It had only been two weeks, so my weapon probably wasn't finished, but I was excited all the same. A loud crash followed through the door. I jumped again, not expecting it._

 _"Yes, yes come in!"_

 _I opened the door slowly, still expecting it to fall off of it's hinges. When it failed to do so, I stepped in and looked around, shutting the door behind me. The forge seemed to be a lot less cluttered than it had two weeks ago._

 _"Mr. Lilly?" I called._

 _A head popped up behind the workbench, which had a huge box in it._

 _"Ah, Mr. Arc. I've got some exciting news for you. Come in, come in."_

 _I approached the Mr. Lilly and the table, breath catching in my throat as I did. My eyes zeroed in on the box when i reached the table._

 _"Is this..?"_

 _A smile broke out on his diminutive face. "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?"_

 _"But, it's only been two weeks! There's no way that it can be done!" I said, incredulously._

 _A look crossed his face. "Who do you think I am, Mr. Arc? I've been doing this long since you were born. Once upon a time I was considered one of the greatest blacksmiths in Vale. Do you think a simple piece like this would hold me back?"_

 _I grimaced, not aware that I had wounded his pride. "Sorry, I was just surprised is all."_

 _"It's alright," the smile returned "Besides, a huntsman is incomplete without their weapon, so I hurried and completed this for you so you could get as much training as possible with it."_

 _I looked back towards the box. "Thank you, sir. I don't know what else I can say."_

 _"Bah, just open it up and try it on. That's what you can do for me."_

 _I stepped forward, grabbed the lid, and slowly removed it. The first thing that was visible was a kite shield, fashioned almost in perfect likeness to Crocea Mors. I lifted it, and underneath saw another piece poking out. I set the shield quickly aside to pick up my sword. Whereas the shield had gold trim along the edges, with the Arc emblem blazing across the center, the sword had black lacing through it. It started as a black flourish through the leather of the hilt and continued on through the tip of the sword as a dark metal. The metal was inlaid perfectly to the point that there was almost no seam. It reminded me of mom's sword and it was beautiful._

 _"I tried to incorporate a style that fit both your mother and father's and make into something that was yours." I jumped at his voice, forgetting that there was someone else in the room. He walked forward and reached into the box and pulled out a chest piece and some shin/knee guards. They were styled in the same fashion as the kite shield. How'd I miss those?_

 _"Here, try it all on, quickly now."_

 _I complied, setting the sword aside and grabbing the armor pieces from him. I strapped the knee guards on over my jeans. I went to remove my hoodie, but thought better of it and put the chest plate on over it. I looked down at myself, then back at Mr. Lilly, who was holding my sword and shield out to me. I grabbed them and attached the shield to my left arm, completing the set. It felt amazing. Everything fit me perfectly and was so light. It felt like I had just thrown on a new pair of clothes._

 _Something was off though. I think Mr. Lilly could tell from the look on my face._

 _"Is there something wrong with my design, Mr. Arc?"_

 _"No!" I quickly said "their perfect and I love them. It's just that, well…"_

 _"Yes, yes?"_

 _"Isn't the armor a little bit small for this kind of weapon? Is that what you meant by fitting my style? Am I supposed to use my shield to protect both sides? I'm not complaining, I swear!" I was rambling "I'm just curious is all."_

 _A chuckle broke me out of my stumbling._

 _"I believe you can answer those questions yourself, Mr. Arc."_

 _"I can?"_

 _He smiled. "Yes, you can. Hold out your sword." I did so. "Now take and will your aura into it."_

 _I stood there for a few seconds, looking at my sword and concentrating._

 _"Uhh…."_

 _He sighed. "Call upon your aura. Think about when you had it awakened if you're having trouble doing so. Or you can think about any other time you used it. Then, channel it into your sword."_

 _"Oh. Okay."_

 _Closing my eyes, I thought back to when I first felt my Aura, that feeling of being connected to everything. Slowly, I felt my body start to tingle. Opening my eyes again, I took that feeling and concentrated it on my right hand and tried to push it into my sword._

 _The sound of gears reached my ears and my sword began to move. The whole thing split in half. I freaked out for a second, thinking I had broken it, but it continued moving from there. The right half of the sword shifted, and swung up towards the end. The end of it opened up and shifted, trying to accommodate the new piece, which slowly shifted into place. Then it stopped. My eyes widened at my new sword._

 _In my right hand, where a three foot sword used to be, was now a five foot katana. Everything made sense now. Why there was so little armor on my arms and legs, why I had to practice with both weapons, and why he said that he had tried to fit it to my style. I took my eyes of my sword and looked towards Mr. Lilly, who was smiling._

 _"It looks as if you finally figured it out. I am particularly proud of the way this piece has turned out. I've named her for you, as I have with all of my pieces." He tapped the sword, and then my shield. "This, right here, is Crocea Illustrant, Yellow Illumination, or the Yellow Beacon, if you will. The whole piece, not one or the other, because one would be nothing without the other."_

 _He stepped towards me, pushing on my back like he did last time. "Now, go and head home, I'm sure you want to try out your new weapon." he pushed me out the door and shut it. I stood there holding my sword, I probably looked ridiculous, but I didn't care at the moment. The door opened up again._

 _"Oh, and by the way, you can use the same process on your shield to turn it into a sheath. It will accommodate both sword and katana based on your needs." He slammed the door again, sounds of things crashing followed shortly._

 _I did as he said, and smiled stupidly when it worked, and I sheathed my sword. I cheered loudly and made my way home to show everyone._

I smiled fondly at the memory, shuffling on the couch. I glanced around at my family situated around the living room. They had been just as impressed as I was with the way my weapon had turned out.

My train of thought was disrupted as the doorbell rang.

"Jaune, will you be a dear and get that for me?" Mom asked.

"Sure, I'll be right back."

The doorbell rang again.

"I'll be right there!"

I quickly made my way to the front door and opened it, only to be lifted in the air, my vision obscured by Bright yellow.

"Little bro! I'm so happy to see you again!"

My feet touched the ground again and I pushed on the shoulders of the person in front of me. Long blonde hair and a smiling face greeted me.

"Scarlett?!"

 **A/N: Thank you for reading chapter 4! I hope you guys have a wonderful day!**


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting With Ozpin

**Here's the next chapter.**

 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Meeting with Ozpin**

* * *

 _Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe. -Gail Devers_

* * *

"Scarlett? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Mistral?" She finally let go of me and stepped back.

"Well, I was. But then I heard the good news and decided to take a vacation." She shrugged her shoulders, causing her hair to fall back. She's let it grow since the last time I saw her.

"Good news?" I asked, confusion apparent. Did something happen with Mom or Dad? Wait, was Mom pregnant again?! I looked to ask, but she interrupted me.

"Are you serious? My baby brother finally decides to become a Huntsman and doesn't think to call and tell me. What else was I going to do? I had to come see you for myself." She smiled brightly again.

I scratched at my chest, and my cheeks flushed. I don't think that it's that big of a deal. Definitely not enough for Scarlett to come all the way home from Mistral. She must have seen my embarrassment, because she stepped forward to give me another hug, only to be tackled by a screaming yellow-haired demon.

"Scarlett!"

Or Violet.

"You're back! Why didn't you call? When did you get here? Ooh, did you bring me a present?!" Scarlett just laughed and tried to push Violet off of her.

I smiled and reached down to get Violet off of our sister. She stood back up and dusted herself off, smiling the whole time.

"Well, hello to you too Vi."

Violet practically vibrated in my hands, excitement coursing through her. Scarlett noticed and spread her arms out, still smiling, and prepared herself for the second landing of hurricane Violet. I let go of her shoulders and she was in Scarlett's arms a second later.

"I missed you." She said quietly, sadly. "You haven't been home in years." Scarlett's arms tightened around her.

"I've missed you too, sis."

The smile on my face fell, and I walked over to them, wrapping my arms around them both. I sighed because it truly has been awhile since we'd seen her. But, she was home now, and that's all that mattered. I smiled again and rested my chin on top of her head while she held Violet.

'Huh, since when have I been able to do that?' I thought. Last time I saw her, she was definitely taller than me. I mentally shrugged, thoughts for another time.

We stayed like that for awhile, just happy to be near each other after so long. At least until Scarlett finally let go and backed away, head turning towards the end of the hallway.

"Mom, Dad." She addressed formally. I turned to see them standing between the entrances to the kitchen and living room. They both had stern expressions on their faces.

They stayed like that for a beat, before dad broke into a smile.

"Welcome home, I'm glad to see that you finally made it."

"I take it that you had no problems on your way back?" Mom questioned, subtly asking if she was okay.

Scarlett stepped away from us both and went to give them each a quick hug.

"Yeah, I'm fine. There was something that held me up in Mistral, but it wasn't that bad."

Mom stepped forward and grabbed her head, turning it about and then moving on to the rest of her.

"You're sure that you're not hurt?" She asked, still fretting over her.

"Mom," Scarlett tried to push her arms away "Mom, I'm fine, it was just a couple of grim. Nothing I couldn't handle."

Juniper sighed and wrapped her up in another hug, either satisfied that she seemed unhurt, or accepting her answer. Maybe both.

"Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. I'm starving and I want to hear more about Jaune." she turned and smiled at me. "Maybe he can tell me all of the things he failed to call me about."

I scratched my chest again, guilt coursing through me. It wasn't like I tried to hide it from her. It's just that I didn't really think about calling her, or any of my sisters for that matter. For a month. Okay, maybe I messed up a little bit. I shivered, thinking about what Amber would do when she found out that I didn't tell her.

I opened my mouth to apologize, but Scarlett stopped me.

"Nuh uh, your excuses can wait. Right now I'm starving, then you can tell me all about it." She glanced to my hip. "And your new weapon apparently." She turned and headed to the kitchen, the rest of the family following after her.

I sighed, and moved after them.

Page Break

I sat and watched as Scarlett inhaled her food. I say inhaled, because that's the only word I could think to describe what I was seeing. The rest of us had finished eating a while ago. Now, we were just waiting for her to finish. We sat in silence, too afraid to interrupt her. I think she even growled at Dad when he started to say something.

When all of the food was gone, she sat back and sighed, patting her belly.

"Man, that is definitely the thing I miss most about living at home. Think I can take some with me when I leave?" She looked to Mom, hopeful look in her eyes.

Juniper smiled and nodded, still just happy to see her daughter again. Scarlett cheered and pushed her plate away.

"Now that that's out of the way," She turned to me and leaned on the table "Spill it bro. What changed your mind? Why a Huntsman?"

I glanced to Mom and Dad, gathering my thoughts. Mom smiled gently at me. I sighed. I had to think of the best way to put this. She had to know that I'm serious about it. She's a huntress herself, so all I had to do was appeal to that side of her, but how to start?

"Jaune got a girlfriend!" Or we could start like that. Scarlett's eyes widened and she whipped her head to look at Violet.

"Vi!" I glared at her. She looked back, not guilty at all. Scarlett looked between us both, eyes bright with mischief.

"Oooh. So that's why you want to be a Huntsman. Want to play the macho man for your girlfriend." She teased. I could hear our parents trying to stifle their laughs. I shot them a quick glare for good measure.

"She's not my girlfriend. I don't even know her name!" I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "But I guess you could say that she is part of the reason why I want to be a Huntsman." Confusion crossed her face.

"Okay, I'll bite. How can someone who's name you don't even know affect your career choice?"

"She's…" I looked down, thinking of the best way to put it. "She's someone important to me. Someone I almost lost, and I never want that to happen again." I looked back up, my face hardening at the thought of what happened that day. "Or to anyone else if I can help it."

The mischief on her face faded when she noticed the serious tone that the conversation had taken.

"Okay, I can respect that. But you still haven't told me what happened."

I drew in a breath, and tried to tell her, but the words got caught in my throat. It was still hard to talk about.

"Tell me Jaune." She pressed. "You can trust me."

I stood up and removed my hoodie. I couldn't speak about it, but I could at least show her. Confusion was still evident on her face. I lifted my shirt above my chest, revealing the nasty scar that ran across it. She gasped and looked towards Mom and Dad. A look passed between them. She looked back at the scar and nodded.

"I think I understand now. She's your soulmate, correct?"

I nodded and pulled my shirt back down, sitting down as I did.

"But she's okay now? You said almost lost, so she's okay?"

I took a shaky breath and released it. After I regained my composure, I smiled. Memories of our "talks" coming to mind.

"Judging from that doofy look on your face, I'll take that as a yes."

I flushed again. "Yeah, she's fine-

"I'll bet she is." Scarlett teased.

"I mean, she's okay. Unhurt at least." Now I remember why I didn't talk to my sisters about girls.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. So, when do I get to meet the mystery woman who stole my brother's heart?"

"Uh, probably sometime after I do." I said. Didn't I make it clear that I really hadn't met her? "And she didn't steal my heart, she's just a.." I paused to think of the right word. "..friend." I finished weakly. Luckily she didn't catch it.

"What do you mean you haven't met her yet? How'd you know she was okay if you didn't see her for yourself?"

"I used our bond..? She was fine the last time I checked."

"Your bond? Wait, like your Soul Link? There's no way that can be possible." she responded, confusion evident on her face.

I looked to Mom, just as confused. She looked between us and took a deep breath, before turning to Scarlett.

"I take it from your questions that you've used the Soul Link, or at least heard of it?" Scarlett flushed.

"Well, yeah, but I thought you had to be closer to use it… I mean emotionally." Her voice grew quiet as she went on. An amused smile appeared on Mom's face.

"So when should I expect grandchildren?"

"Not like that!" Scarlett quickly denied. "I meant like, intimate, wait no that's not right." Scarlett tripped over her words. Violet couldn't hold in her laughter.

"I know what you meant, Scar." Dad rescued her. Though, he too was smiling. "I was confused as well, when your mother first told me. Normally, one would have to at least have some sort of friendship with their Soulmate to establish a bond like Jaune has." Everyone turned to look at me.

My hand hovered over my chest. None of this was making sense to me. So it wasn't normal to be able to connect with your Soulmate like this?

"It seems that the trauma of the event has caused their bond to awaken quicker than it should have." Mom explained.

"Jaune," Scarlett addressed me. "What did it feel like when you connected with her?"

I thought back to the times that I've used the bond to check on her.

"Well, the first time was right after it happened, and everything was happening so fast that I wasn't exactly sure. I know that at first, all I could feel were her emotions, and then slowly, I could feel everything that she could. Every time after that though, I could feel everything almost as soon as I connect to her."

Scarlett's eyes widened. I looked to my parents to see that theirs had as well.

"What?"

"You could feel what she felt?" Dad asked. "Like when things she touched and stuff?"

"Well, yeah. I could feel what she felt and heard and stuff. I mean it was almost like I was her, but blind or something."

They looked between each other, surprise still evident. I looked to Violet to see if she knew what was going on, but she remained as clueless as I.

"You said every time after that. How many times have you used the link, Jaune?" Dad asked

"I don't know," I started, "I've used it at least every other night to make sure she was okay. Why?"

They looked even more surprised. I was starting to feel irritated. What was going on?

"What? What aren't you guys telling me?"

No one seemed to want to answer. We sat in silence for a few seconds before Mom broke it.

"Jaune. The link that you're describing is something extremely similar to the one that your father and I share."

"Yeah," I started "I figured. I mean you guys never really told us, but I figured you were soul mates. Why'd you bring that up now though?"

"We've been married for 20 years Jaune." She said slowly. Like she was trying to explain something to a child.

"And..?" I didn't see where she was going with this.

"A bond like that takes years to develop. It's not like a switch that you flip and it's suddenly there. The bond matures as you, and your soulmate, do. Together." Dad explained. "I've never heard of a bond cementing without even meeting the other person, let alone one as strong as yours has."

Oh… Oh. Okay. That's definitely news to me. Maybe I should have studied the bond or something.

"So what you're saying... is that what I'm experiencing isn't normal.. That our bond is closer than it should be...?" I asked. Trying to work my way through it.

"Exactly. Now you see why I was so surprised." Scarlett said "I don't want to talk about everything right now, but the bond that I have starts and ends at the emotions. I can't feel anything else right now."

I sat back in my chair, trying to process everything that I had learned. Were we really that abnormal? Maybe my parents just didn't know enough about it.

"Wait, if i shouldn't even have the bond right now, then how did you know that I could connect with her, when she first got hurt?" I looked to Mom.

"Well, I didn't know for sure, but I had a suspicion. When something traumatic happens, your soul is at it's most vulnerable. I figured that you would at least be able to use the bond to check on her, but I never thought that it would actually establish the connection between you two. And I definitely didn't think that you would be able to use it like you have."

I nodded. Still trying to take everything in. I looked at the clock, noticing that it was late, and then looked at Scarlett. She looked exhausted. Mom must have noticed as well.

"Well, I have a lot to think about, and it's getting late, so I think that I'm going to go to bed."

"Okay," Dad said "I think we should all head there soon. We can talk about this again when we figure something else out."

"Night guys." I said as I headed to the stairs.

"Night"

'Well, that was a thing.' I thought, as I headed to bed. Tomorrow was Sunday, so maybe I could spend it figuring this thing out. My thoughts turned to the person on the other end of my bond. I wish I could talk to her, maybe she would know something about this.

* * *

I was having the greatest dream, before I was so rudely interrupted. Something slammed into my chest and I shot up.

"Who- what- what's going on?" I moved to jump out of bed, but got wrapped up in my sheets and my face met the floor. I heard laughing from the doorway and I looked up to see Scarlett doubled over.

"Oh, hardy har har. Let's just pick on the sleeping guy." She laughed even harder. I glanced over to the clock. "Why are you waking me up at 6 o'clock anyways?" I stood up, trying to untangle myself from my blankets.

Scarlett straightened up, still smiling. "Come on sleepy head. We're going to spar. Grab your gear and meet me outside in a few minutes." With that, she left the room.

I probably looked pretty stupid with the smile that came to my face, but I couldn't help it. My sister wanted to spar with me. My sister who was a Huntress. I picked up the rest of my blanket and went to toss it on my bed, only to have something fall out of it and land straight on my foot. I sucked air through my teeth. That didn't feel good. I looked down to see my sword lying on the ground. Okay, so that's what she threw at me to wake me up.

I hurriedly changed out of my pajamas and into my jeans and hoodie, before I grabbed my gear and rushed down the stairs. I passed the kitchen and saw Mom shuffling around, getting breakfast ready for when Dad woke up. They always were early risers, even on the weekend. I contemplated grabbing something to eat before the spar, but thought better of it and headed towards the front yard.

When I reached the yard, I saw Scarlett stretching, Crocea Mors off to the side. I approached her silently, as to not disturb her, but she heard me anyways and turned to greet me.

"Hey, nice of you to finally show up."

I rolled my eyes and sat Crocea Illustrant off next to Mors. I noticed that Mors looked as new as Illustrant did. Scarlett took really good care of him, especially for a weapon that was almost a hundred years old. I shook the thoughts from my head and threw my armour over my head. I walked back to where Scarlett was still stretching and figured that I should loosen up myself.

We were silent as we stretched. I don't know how much time passed, but I didn't waste it. I was going over everything I knew about Scarlett's fighting style. What did I know? I knew that she wielded the same type of weapon that Dad used in our spars, but she didn't use it the same way. True, it had been a few years since I had seen her fight, but from what I can remember, she concentrated more on quick successive strikes to wear down her opponent, more so than a strong defense. I'd have to wait for an opening in one of her attacks.

I finished the last of my stretches and stood up to see Scarlett jogging around the front yard. I heard the front door open and turned to see Dad walk out, a cup of coffee in his hands. He caught my eye and sent me a smile before heading over to the bench that we kept in front of the house. I walked over to where Illustrant lay and picked him up.

Scarlett finished her lap and jogged back to me, picking her weapon as well. "You read to do this bro?" I smiled at her, excitement coursing through me.

"Definitely."

We squared off. I rolled my shoulders and got in my stance. My feet were shoulder length apart and I led with my shield.

"I want to see what you've got Jaune. I don't want you holding back on me just because I'm your sister." she smirked at me. The thought never crossed my mind, she would punish me for it if I did. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to be the first to attack. I needed to see what I was working with before I made a plan. I decided to stick with Illustrant's sword form for now.

Seems that she didn't want to make the first move either, because we both stood there, sizing each other up. Some time passed, and then she sheathed Mors. I relaxed my stance.

'What was she doing?'

I saw her reach to her hips and my stance was once again in place. I quickly moved my shield in front of me. I was rewarded with the sound of two thunks against my shield. I moved the shield and saw her taking aim with her handguns again. I rolled out of the way of her next shot.

'Her guns! How in the world did I forget about those?'

I stood up out of my roll, only for her to charge at me, shield raised. I raised mine just in time. Her shield slammed against mine and I could feel my feet slide against the ground. I found purchase and pushed back, giving myself some space.

She backed away, stance relaxed.

"What are you doing Jaune? You can't win a fight by only defending."

I wouldn't let her goad me, I still had to get used to her fighting style. I wouldn't win by blindly charging in either. I reset my stance, staring defiantly into her eyes.

She shrugged. "So be it."

What followed next was the fastest set of strikes I had ever seen. She used both sword and shield to attack me, trying to find any way to throw me off balance. It was all I could do to block and stay on my feet, but I took more strikes than I could block. The whole while she taunted me.

"Come on Jaune. Fight me!" I dodged sweep of her sword.

"Quit hiding and fight!" I blocked an overhand strike.

"Just because you copied my weapon, doesn't mean that you can match me in a fight." That one got me. I sidestepped another swing and returned with one of my own. She easily stepped out of its reach.

"Better, but you're going to have to do a lot more to beat me."

I grit my teeth and stepped forward, leading with my shield like she had earlier. I made a mistake though, I covered my eyes with my shield. The next thing I knew, my feet were flying out from underneath me and she was on top of me. Her teeth bared. Gone was the playful smile she had maintained during the other parts of the spar.

"This isn't a game Jaune. If I was an enemy, you'd be dead. You should just give up on being a Huntsman."

No. That wasn't a possibility. I growled and pushed her off of me with my shield. I quickly stood up and charged. I attacked with everything that I had. She needed to know that I was serious. This is what I wanted to do.

I swung overhead with Illustrant. She raised her shield and blocked, but I could feel her stance give to absorb the blow. I kicked at her shield, and I must have surprised her, because her shield was knocked to the side. I tried to quickly follow it up with a slash, but she regrouped herself and stepped out of it's reach.

I didn't let up. I pushed and pushed, not giving her the chance to attack. I used my shield and sword in tandem, trying to create an opening to land a hit. I overstepped on one of my strikes and she made me pay for it. I stepped back, holding the shoulder that she had cut. I could already feel my Aura healing it.

"If that's the best you've got, then your little girlfriend is as good as dead. You could barely protect us from Grimm, let alone anything else. Maybe you should just quit"

I saw red. I don't know what had gotten into her, but she was hitting me where it hurt.

I charged again, shield raised, but I kept my eyes above the brim. She noticed and raise her shield to block. Good.

I sent Aura into both my shield and sword at the same time, switching my grip to accommodate the transformation. I could see the surprise on her face as she tried to adjust, but it was too late. I swung with both hands to her right side, catching her leg. She stepped back tried to readjust, but I didn't give her time. I attacked, and attacked, pouring my anger into each strike. She blocked a few, but I struck her more often than not. It wasn't enough. I pushed myself to attack faster, harder.

I don't know how long the exchange lasted, but I didn't let up. Frustration and anger were still coursing through me. She blocked one of my attacks and threw my katana to the side, striking at the opening. I jumped back to avoid the attack. She took the opportunity to put some space between us.

She didn't taunt me anymore.

We both prepared ourselves and dashed forward. She swung out, trying to catch me on my left side. I let go of my katana, pouring aura into my shield that was collapsed on my arm. It sprung out knocking away her sword and I followed it with a strike from my sword. My sword caught hers and sent it flying. I used the opportunity to slam my shield into her face, knocking her off her feet. I stepped forward and held my sword to her neck. I was stopped when I heard clapping from the side.

I looked up, surprised. I had forgotten that Dad was still there. I looked down and the anger and frustration melted away to be replaced by guilt. I sheathed Illustrant and reached down to help Scarlett up. She took my hand and pulled herself up, breathing heavily. She was smiling for some strange reason.

"I told you he'd surprise you, didn't I?" Dad said

"Yeah, but with the way the fight started, I thought you were exaggerating. That last bit there really got me."

I rubbed at my chest, feeling equal parts embarrassed at the praise and guilty for doing what I did.

"Listen, Scar. I'm sorry for that. I didn't-

"What are you apologizing for. It's been awhile since something has surprised me like that. Be proud of yourself."

The guilt finally got me. "Be proud? How can I be proud when I almost hurt you?" She looked at me like I was an idiot, which I probably am.

"It was a fight Jaune, that's kind of the main point. Besides, it'd take a lot more than that to seriously hurt me. Give your sister some credit."

Seeing that I still didn't feel better, she stepped forward and gave me hug.

"You did great Jaune, and I'm very proud of how far you've come in such a short time."

Okay, that made me feel a little bit better. She stepped back.

"Oh, and don't think that you can beat me every time now. You just surprised me when you shifted your weapon. Only you would think of having a two-handed weapon with a shield." she smiled at me.

I smiled back, because I knew that. I should have known what she was doing when she started saying those things, but the adrenaline from the fight got to me.

Dad put a hand on each of our shoulders and we turned to look at him.

"Well, needless to say, I'm extremely proud of both of you. Jaune for showing me that this is something that you can actually do and Scarlett for showing me that you made the right choice." He squeezed our shoulders and stepped back. "Now, what do you say we go into town and get some lunch to celebrate?"

I looked at the sky, surprised to find that it was already as late as it was. I turned to see Scarlett sniffing at me. She pulled back with a disgusted look on her face.

"That's all well and good, but maybe Jaune should shower before we go. No offense dude, but you smell like a Beowolf that rolled around in a garbage dump."

I pulled my hoodie up and took a whiff. I gagged a little bit.

"Maybe you have a point."

I could hear them laughing as I headed towards the house.

* * *

"... and that, students, is the terminal velocity at which a bullet of this caliber would need to penetrate a Deathstalkers hide."

I was bored. It's not that I didn't enjoy school, because I did, but after this weekend, sitting in class was making me antsy. Not to mention that I was still sore from the spar. I looked down to my notes and continued my doodling. Besides, when would I ever use this, I didn't even use a gun.

The hairs on my neck raised up. I scratched at it and it stopped. That was weird. I mentally shrugged and continued sketching on my paper. They raised again. I turned around quickly to see if someone was behind me, but everyone was either zoned out or paying attention to the teacher. Once more, I shrugged it off and turned back to my paper.

Then I felt amusement and happiness. Everything clicked at that. Well this was new. Usually I was the one using our bond. And by usually, I mean that this was the first time that she had ever used it.

'So this was what it felt like' I thought. I was still conscious of everything that was going on around me, but it felt like there was someone standing right behind me. Almost like the feeling you get when a teacher is standing behind you while you take a test.

I greeted her with the usual sense of emotions that I tied to her, and she responded in kind. I shifted and my shoulder twinged where Scarlett had cut me. Her happiness changed, and shifted to something like worry. I was confused. What would she be worried about all of a sudden.

Then I realized that it had been a couple days since I had 'talked' to her. I guess I would be worried too if I hadn't contacted her in a couple of days and found her beat up. I grinned, she was concerned for me. That had to mean something, right?

I guess my amusement bled through because she started to feel irritation, but it was still overlain by worry. I tried to ease her worry by sending through calming thoughts, but it didn't seem to work.

I fiddled with my pencil trying to think of a way to let her know that it was nothing serious, and that I was just sore from training. But, I didn't have my weapon on my like she had. I glanced at my pencil and a thought struck me. Why hadn't I thought of this before?!

I flipped my notes over and began to write. I wrote slowly and deliberately to make sure that she that she knew what I was doing.

'Hey, can you understand this?' I wrote.

Irritation and worry turned to confusion, and then to understanding. Then giddiness came through. I laughed at that. I guess she had never thought of that before, but I didn't expect that. Happiness, exasperation, irritation sure, but giddy and worried? That was definitely new. I smiled and kept writing.

'My sister came by this weekend' I wrote

A beat, and then confusion once again.

'She's a huntress and she was helping me train.'

Comprehension. The worry went away completely with it. Then a group of emotions came through, ones associated with a question. I took it to mean a question about why I was training.

'I'm going to be a Huntsman too. She wanted to make sure that I was ready.'

The worry came back, but it was overlain with excitement and anticipation. A beat, and then another question.

I didn't understand what she was asking so I kept writing. I wrote some more about Scarlett and the rest of my family. I wrote about the school I was at. Pretty much anything that I thought she would want to know. She seemed happy with what I wrote, but the questioning emotions were still there.

I fiddled with my pencil again, trying to guess at what she wanted to know. I chewed on my eraser, a bad habit I had picked up somewhere.

"... are you even listening Mr. Arc?"

"Huh? What?" I looked up to see the teacher standing in front of me. How'd I miss that? "Sorry, Mr. Peach. What was the question again?" I scratched at my chest, another bad habit that I had when I was nervous.

Mr. Peach sighed. "I swear, you kids these days. I know that you have decided that you want to be a Huntsman Jaune-" comprehension, happiness, and excitement bled through the link. Oh, so that's what she wanted to know. I smiled "-but, you can't just shrug off a class because you don't think you're going to use it." My smile fell.

"I promise that's not it, sir. I was just distracted."

He sighed as the bell rang, signalling the end of class.

"Be that as it may, you would do well to pay more attention. You never know when you might need something in one of your classes." He walked away from me and dismissed the rest of the class as he did so.

I gathered my stuff and tried to zone out the emotions I was feeling. She was laughing at me. I was happy to be able to talk with her, and that she had used the bond to talk to me. But, she didn't have to laugh when she got me in trouble. I left the room and headed towards my next class. She stayed connected and laughed the whole way.

* * *

I opened the front door of my house, kicking my shoes off as I did. It was a weird day. I was happy at being able to 'talk' to my soulmate, but I was also a little irritated and grumpy. She kept coming in and out all day, distracting me from my coursework. She, of course, thought it was hilarious. I smiled as I entered the kitchen. I guess it was kind of funny, but still.

The smile fell when I saw my parents and Scarlett seated around the dinner table. They all turned as I approached, excitement apparent on their faces.

"What's going on?" I asked. They looked between each other, smiling.

"What?"

Scarlett was the first to respond. She stood and shoved something into my hands, practically bouncing on her feet. Okayyy?

I looked down to see an envelope in my hands. I turned it over to see that it was dressed to a Mr. Jaune Arc. I looked at the return address and my heart picked up speed when I saw that it was from beacon. I looked up at my family to see them just as excited.

I turned it back over and slowly tore it open, fingers trembling. I pulled the letter out and read it aloud so the could hear it as well.

 _'Mr. Arc,_

 _On the behalf of Beacon Academy, we would like to thank you for applying to our school-'_

My heart sped up as I read.

 _'-However, we are sorry to inform you that we have decided to decline your admittance.'_

"What?" Scarlett yelled

My heart fell, but I continued to read.

 _'You have met all of the requirements to attend our school, but keep in mind that this is still a selection process, and we only take the best of the best. Your scores have risen tremendously in your final year at Asylum academy and the recommendation letter provided by Mr. Hazel highlighted this. But, it requires more than just one year to obtain the skills to study at a Huntsman Academy, and your previous scores do not reflect a model student. I am truly sorry._

 _Best of luck,_

 _Glynda Goodwitch'_

The letter fell from my hand as Violet walked through the door. She noticed the atmosphere immediately.

"What's going on you guys. What happened?"

"What happened?" Scarlett practically shouted "I'll tell you what happened. Freakin' Mrs. Goodwitch just shat all over Jaune's dreams!"

"Language Scarlett, and please calm down. I'm sure there is a perfectly acceptable reason to-" Mom started

"No. This is just her being her normal self. She thinks she's doing what's best for him, even if she has no idea." She pulled out her scroll and started dialing a number.

"Scar," I said, almost whispered "It's fine-" She cut me off as well.

"No, it's not. I'm going to call her and set things straight."

That surprised me. Enough to shock me out of my funk.

"Why do you have her number?" I asked.

She ignored me, however. Concentrating on the scroll.

The scroll rang a few times before the other end picked up.

"Scarlett, it's nice to see you again. How's your mission in Mistral coming along?" Goodwitch answered.

"Don't 'it's nice to see you' me." Scarlett started, obviously peeved. "Why in the world did you reject my brother's application?!"

"Scarlett, you need to get a hold of yourself. Act like a Huntress." I couldn't see her, but I could tell that a switch had been flipped and Mrs. Goodwitch had transformed into teacher mode.

"I rejected his application, because he is simply not ready for the harsh training that is required-"

Scarlett's face turned redder and redder.

"No, let me talk to Ozpin."

"Mrs. Arc. Do not take-

"Glynda?" A new voice spoke up. "Who are you speaking to?"

"Headmaster," her voice changed once again. "I was just speaking with Scarlett."

"Ah, Mrs. Arc? Let me talk to her. It has been awhile since she has updated us."

A sigh came through.

"Mrs. Arc. How are you doing?"

Scarlett's face took back its normal shade, but I could still tell that she was angry.

"Professor Ozpin. I'm sorry for calling at this time, but I need answers."

"Okay." He said deliberately. "What is it that you need to know?"

Scarlett took a deep breath, calming herself further.

"Mrs. Goodwitch sent my brother a letter denying his application to Beacon." She started to get angry again. "She said he wasn't ready. I've spent more time with him then you guys have, you haven't even met him. I've fought with him and I know that he's more than ready for this."

"Is he now?" Ozpin asked. "Well let me correct one of those things now. Let me speak with him"

I stepped back in shock. Me? The headmaster wants to speak with me?

Scarlett handed the scroll over to me. I took a deep breath and looked into the face of the headmaster of Beacon.

"Mr. Arc. It's good to meet you, well as much as this can be considered meeting someone."

My mouth dried.

"You too sir, I mean Professor, I mean-"

"Relax Mr. Arc, you can just call me Ozpin"

I took a deep breath. "Yes, sir" He smiled, Obviously amused.

"So tell me, why do you want to be a hunter."

My thoughts raced to everything that has happened in the past couple of months.

"I-I almost lost someone important to me. She almost died, and there was nothing I could have done about it. I don't ever want to feel like that again, and I don't want anyone else to have to feel what I felt that day."

He hmmd. "I see. Why don't you tell me about that?"

So I did. I told him everything. Everything about my schooling, about my soulmate almost dying, about the bond we shared, about my training, everything. I poured my heart out to him, hoping that he would understand.

After I was done, we sat in silence. I held my breath for what felt like hours but was possibly only seconds, until he spoke.

"This bond you speak of. You say you've never met her before?" I nodded "And how often do you use it to contact this person?"

"Almost every day sir."

He sat forward and steepled his hands together.

"Interesting. Mr. Arc. I have a very important question for you?"

I swallowed, my spit felt like molasses.

"Sir?"

He smiled and dropped his hands.

"How would you like to come study at my academy?"

 **A/N: Thank you for reading the next chapter and I hope you have a great day!**


	6. Chapter 6: The First Day of the Rest

**Hey guys. First off, I wanna apologize for the long wait. Some things happened, but I'm sure you guys don't want excuses so I'll leave it at that. Just know that the interval between this chapter and the next will be shorter.**

 **Second, this chapter is kind of the standard first day at Beacon chapter, but there are some things that happen that need to be told.**

 **And third, I hope you guys have had a great Halloween and a Happy Thanksgiving!**

 **On to the chapter**

 **Scars of the Heart**

 **Chapter 6**

 **The First Day of the Rest of My Life**

Today was the day. The day that I take the first real step into the world of Hunters and Huntresses. I paled at the thought. I paled even further when the bullhead that would take me to Beacon landed.

'What if I'm not cut out for this? Is it too late to head home?'

Those thoughts were wiped away as I'm pulled into a vice grip of a hug.

"Oh, baby brother, I'm so proud of you! I just know you're going to do so great!"

At least someone seemed confident in my abilities. Speaking of which, I need one of those abilities back.

"ugh… Scar.. can't breath."

"Oh!" she finally released me, and stepped back sheepishly "Sorry Jaune, I'm just so excited to finally have someone else in the family whose a Huntsman."

"Hmmph, and what am I, chopped liver?" Scarlett jumped at the sound of Dad's deep voice, turning around in the same movement.

"Dad! You know what I mean." he raised an eyebrow at that, clearly waiting for the explanation "It's not that I don't appreciate that you're a Huntsman, but now that Jaune's going to be one, I'll have someone closer to my age." She finishes, hoping that she got her point across.

"I think she's calling you old, Dad" Violet ribs from beside mom as they walk up.

Scarlet sputters at that, eliciting a laugh from dad. "I know what you meant, sweetheart." He chuckles, before turning to me. "We really are proud of you Jaune."

The sound of a megaphone cuts through the sound of the crowd.

"Passengers on the flight for Beacon, prepare to board. The Bullhead leaves in 10 minutes. Once more, passengers…" The guy drones on as I turn back to my family. The mood sobered up at the announcement. I glanced at each of my family in turn. It seems that the announcement came with the realization that this would be the first time that I'd be away from home for anything longer than a couple of days. Mom was the first to break the silence.

"We know you're going to do so great, sweetey." I step into the hug that she offers. "Just don't forget to keep in touch, and call if you need anything." I feel her arms tighten around me and hear her choke back a sob. "And remember that we will always be proud of you" She releases me and steps back, only for Violet to take her place, and then Scarlett after her. When they each step back, I turn to Dad, to find a little smile on his face. Like the others, he pulls me into a hug, but pulls back quickly and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Jaune, I just want you to know, that even if you are doing this for your own reasons, I am so proud of you for carrying on the legacy. At times, it may seem like you can't do it, and while it would certainly be easier to give up, don't. These past few months I have trained you, you've shown me that you have what it takes to do this. Have confidence in yourself."

I can feel the pinpricks at the corners of my eyes. I knew that dad would never argue with what I chose to do, but this is the first time he has ever fully backed me. I open my mouth to thank him, but his smile turns to a smirk.

"And don't forget, all ladies look for in a man is confidence," He grabs me by my shoulders, turns me around, and pushes me towards the bullhead, "So go and find my daughter-in-law for me!"

My face burns as I'm sure that everyone around me heard that, including my future classmates. I turn to throw them a scowl and see that my sisters and even my mom were laughing. Moment ruined, I throw up my hands and march towards the bullhead. I'm not really upset at them, but it's not an act either. It's one thing to embarrass me at home, but a completely different story to do it in public, around people that I'd be spending the next four years with.

I climb the ramp on the back of the bullhead, grumbling all the way, and find the seat closest to the entrance. After setting my bag down beside me, I raise my head to look at the throng of people (all students I presume) gathered about. As I scan through the crowd, my confidence grows a bit. Outside of the few obvious powerhouses, the other students don't look anything like I imagined. In fact, they look normal, almost forgettable for the most part.

"Passengers, prepare for takeoff."

I turn to my left and grab the seat buckle that they provided, and feel someone sit down to my right as I do. After I finish buckling, I glance to see who took the seat next to me. The first thing my eyes notice is hair just as blond as mine. It's the first thing I notice, because it is literally the only thing that I can see at the moment. The girl, at least I hope it's a girl with hair like that, is facing away from me talking to someone else. Not wanting to bother her, I turn away and back to my thoughts. I can hear the engines whirring up and increasing in volume, clear signs that we were getting ready to take off.

As soon as we start moving, my stomach lurches into my throat. I swallow the bile that quickly builds up and try to quell my rolling stomach. Experienced as I am with motion sickness, I put my head in my hands and start rubbing my temples, hoping to relieve some of the queasiness. As I do, I can feel my world tilt and my stomach once again jumps. The aircraft seems to shake causing something bumps into my right, worsening the feeling. I definitely don't remember car rides being this bad.

"Oops, sorry about that dude." the something from my right says.

I try to hold myself together and glance up, bringing me face to face with the blond haired girl from earlier. I try to say something, but I can't for fear of something besides words coming out. She stares at me, face scrunched up slightly.

"Hey, aren't you that guy looking for a wife?" she asks, teasing smile on her face.

I groan, both in embarrassment and from the feeling in my stomach, and put my face back in my hands.

"Don't worry about it, lady killer." I can hear the grin in her voice, "people have gone to school for worse reasons."

I groan again as the shaking around me starts to subside, just as I hear the crackle of a speaker somewhere.

"You can now free to move around as you like." a voice speaks from somewhere. With the announcement, my motion sickness seems to subside. Now that I had more control of myself, I turn to address the blonde girl, who has already unbuckled and stood up.

I follow suit and stand up, causing her attention to come back to me. She reaches a hand out, introducing herself.

"Yang Xiao Long," I reach to shake her hand "blonde beauty and brawler at your service." She finishes, with a wink. Now that I don't feel like I'm gonna puke at any second, I see that she is indeed telling the truth. I drop her hand and flush when she catches me looking.

"Jaune Arc," I greet back weakly, hoping that she's not too upset. I glance back at her face to find a smirk and a twinkling in her eyes, but she doesn't address it. Instead, she steps aside and holds out her arms.

"And this is my little sister Ruby," I start a little at the introduction, completely unaware that there was anyone else with her.

"Hi." The girl, Ruby I correct myself, says with a small wave. She appeared younger than the 17 she must be for she was slight with a small round face and gangly limbs. However, the most noticeable feature about her was a scar that ran from her left eyebrow down to just under her eye. I must have been staring for too long, because her face slowly turned red and Yang snaps her fingers in front of mine.

"And she is most definitely not wife material." chuckling as she finishes her introduction.

"YANG!" Ruby groans.

My face lights up, and I groan as well. Sputtering my denial.

"Sorry," I almost squeak. I clear my throat before continuing. "I didn't mean to stare. It's just.." I trailed off. It would probably be rude to ask about her scar. Yang threw an arm around her sister, and pinched her cheek between her thumb and forefinger, causing even more grumbling to come from her.

"I know, ain't she just the cutest." Yang said grinning, teasing us both.

I can feel my blush darken. "No! That's not why I was star-"

"What, you don't think my sister is cute?" Her face crinkles again.

"What- no- I mean- she's-" Her smile grew at each denial.

"Yang! Please stop!"

Yang breaks out into laughter as I take a deep breath and fight the redness on my face. I open my eyes and try to clear things up.

"Sorry," I start "but I didn't come to Beacon to find a wife, my dad was just teasing me. And I was staring because, well," not being able to put it to words, I run my finger across my eye. Catching my meaning, Yang's smile loses the teasing edge. "I was just curious I guess." I finish shrugging my shoulders.

"On how I got it?" Ruby asks, mirroring the motion that I had made. I nod, and her face falls. I didn't need an answer at that.

"Oh" the sound escapes me before I can stop it. Yang shoots me a confused look, one mirrored by Ruby.

"Oh, what?"

"Uh, well, it's just. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I hurriedly explain, but Ruby must have figured it out, because she sends me a small smile.

"Is that why your dad was yelling at you earlier?" Her smile grows at the question. I scratch at my chest and look away.

"Yeah," I confirm and flush a little.

Yang's eyes bounce between us, like watching a confusing tennis match.

"Okay, I give. What in the world are you guys talking about?"

Ruby and I catch each other's eyes and break into laughter.

After that, conversation came a little easier for me. I was able to talk to them while only stumbling when my motion sickness got to be too much. At some point in our conversation, the noise around us died down and everyone was looking to a place behind me, so I turned as well. A hologram of a blonde haired lady had appeared and she was addressing us.

"Welcome prospective students of Beacon Academy." My stomach dropped when I recognized the voice. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the prestigious few who have been selected to attend our school. Our world is experiencing a time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to train and make sure that it continues." I felt as if she was looking directly at me at this point, but that's silly, there's no way she could see me through the hologram, right? "You have demonstrated the courage it takes and now it is our turn to instill you with the knowledge and training that you will need to do so."

At this, the hologram disappeared and all of the students congregated to the windows, 'oohing' and 'ahhing' as they did. I moved to a window beside Ruby to take my look as well. This proved to be a mistake.

My stomach jumped and my forgotten motion sickness came into full effect. In the time it took me to turn away from the window, my stomach decided that it didn't need its contents anymore.

"Ugh gross, Jaune!"

"Ew, ew, ew, ew!"

Page Break

"I'm telling you, motion sickness is a more common problem than people think."

Yang turned around a pointed a finger in my face.

"And I'm telling you, Vomit Boy, that I don't care how common of a problem it is, you still owe me a pair of shoes. Understood?"

I nodded quickly. She hmmphed and stormed off away from me.

I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair.

"Don't worry Jaune," I jumped at the voice, unaware that Ruby had stayed behind. "She'll be fine once she has some time to calm down."

"Does she always get this mad?"

"Well you did kind of throw up on her."

"It's not my fault that they put Beacon someplace we had to fly to. I mean really, who ever heard of putting a school next to a cliff?"

Ruby snickered behind her hand. A group of students hustled past us, obviously in a hurry.

"I guess that's our sign to hurry up." I said, nodding my head in the direction that the students went. Ruby nodded and fell into step beside me.

It seems that we had talked about everything we could on the ride over, because we were silent as we walked. Honestly, it was kind of awkward. What does a 17 year old huntress in training talk about? School? We haven't started that yet. Boys? Yeah that's definitely not happening. Weapons? Pfft. Yeah right.

"Sooo…. I got this thing." a whir and clank knock me out of my thoughts. My eyes widen as a red pole with a long curved blade, larger than me, is slammed down beside me.

"Wow. That's…. a big scythe."

"It's also a customizable, High-impact sniper rifle."

"A… gun?"

She smiled and nodded.

"So, what do you got?"

"Well, uh," I rubbed a hand through my chest grabbed Illistrant from my hip. "It's not as cool as your weapon, but I have these." I said, holding them out for her to see.

"Ooh, a sword and shield. So what do they do?"

"Do?" I ask. She looks at me funnily.

"Yeah, like shifting and stuff."

"Oh," I grin "You mean this" I pushed a little bit of Aura into Illistrant and it slings forward into it's katana form. I forgot how close I was to Ruby, so she literally had to jump back to avoid getting impaled on the end of it. This caused her to trip and fall landing in someone's luggage. I grimace. I keep making mistakes like this and I won't have to worry about Grimm. My headstone will read 'Obliterated by Yang Xiao Long'. Before I can move to help her up, someone beats me to it, kind of.

"What are you doing?! You could have gotten us all killed!"

I move to help Ruby up and face the girl reprimanding her.

"I'm really sorry miss, it was all my fault. I just…" I pause in my explanation when our eyes meet. She has the most striking blue eyes I had ever seen. "I… uh." I'm literally at a loss for words. She crosses her arms and starts tapping her foot. I peel my eyes from her to glance at Ruby when I notice something. I whip my head back to look at the new girl's face, and then back to Ruby's. And back to new girl's. This must be what Yang felt like earlier.

"Are you going to explain yourself or are you just going to stand there like a blubbering buffoon?"

Apparently I'm taking the second option. Speechless for a different reason. Ruby as well. I catch her eyes and she looks at me confusedly. In explanation, I quickly point to my left eye and then to the white-haired girl. Ruby follows my finger, and her eyes widen. I turn with her.

"What?!" The girl snaps.

Both Ruby and I open our mouths to say something, but no sound comes out. Apparently tired of not receiving an answer, the girl throws up her hands.

"Whatever, just be more careful next time." She squeezes between us, grabs her stuff, and opens it to make sure that nothing is broken. Satisfied with what she saw, she turns to leave.

"Wait!" Ruby breaks her silence, causing the girl to turn around, eyebrow cocked.

"I.. uh.. I'm Ruby. What's your name?"

The girl opens her mouth as if to respond but pauses, shooting me a questioning look. I shrug, not in answer, but because I have no idea what she's asking me. She looks back to Ruby.

"You.. don't know who I am?"

Now it's Ruby's turn to be confused. She shoots me a questioning look as well. I shrug again, because I still have no idea what's going on.

"Uh.. no? Should I?" Ruby asks.

The girl looks thoughtful for a moment, and, as if coming to a conclusion, opens her mouth to speak.

"I'm Weiss Schnee. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to head to the auditorium." She nods as she walks past us again.

"Wait," Ruby says again, and Weiss pauses, turning slightly towards her. "So.. uh.. I like your hair." Ruby says, and you can see the immediate regret on her face.

Weiss squints her eyes, suspicion etched on her face as she looks at Ruby. All of a sudden, Weiss' eyes open wider, quickly to be replaced by a look of steel.

"No." she says and walks away. I watched her retreating form, wondering just what happened.

Confused, I turn back to Ruby to find her downcast.

"What was that about?" I ask her. Partly because I'm curious, but mostly to get her to talk.

"You saw, didn't you? She had the same scar as me." I nod, being the one who had pointed it out in the first place. "I just panicked. I'm not the most socially inclined person out there, but I knew that I had to talk to her."

"I kind of figured that, but I meant what happened to her? Why'd she storm off like a mirror image of your sister?"

Ruby played with her fingers, biting at her nails before she answered.

"I think she realized it too." She said quietly, letting out a sigh.

Oh. And that was her reaction? So what do I do now? Cheer her up, maybe? I sigh. I can try to do what dad does when he helps me. I reach out and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go find your sister and hopefully find something to eat. If I remember correctly, the last thing I ate is currently all over her shoes."

Ruby's smirked at that. Not the full blown laughter I was going for, but it would have to work.

I smiled back at her and dropped my hand from her shoulder. I turned to head to the auditorium when I realized something. I had no idea where it was.

"So, uh, where are we going?"

"I dunno, I was following you."

Page Break

I dropped my sleeping bag on the ground, contemplating the things that I had heard during the opening ceremony. I didn't realize that there was going to be a test so shortly into the year. The nerves that had gone on the flight to Beacon came back full force. I had no idea what the test was, but there was no way I was prepared for it. I could just imagine the look on my parents faces when I was sent home after failing initiation. I dropped down to search through my bag for my pajamas.

"Hey, Jaune!"

I turn at the sound to find Yang dragging Ruby behind her, both dressed in their sleepwear.

"Hey guys," I greet, grabbing at some clothes in my bag and standing up. "You're not still mad at me for earlier are you?"

Yang looked thoughtful for a moment. "Nah, but if you ever do it again, you'll know what gunpowder tastes like by the end of the day." I laugh, but it dies in my throat when I see Ruby making an x motion in front of her.

"O-okay" I respond "I'll make sure that it doesn't."

"Good," Yang smiles "So, what are you doing?"

I glance down at the clothes in my hands and am a little confused.

"Well, I was going to get ready for bed, but I can't find my sleep clothes." I said holding up the shorts and shirt that I don't remember putting in my bag. I bend down and reach back into the bag, pulling out a piece of paper as I do. Even more confused, I open it up

 _Jaune,_

 _You'll thank me later, as will all of your teammates. Remember to have confidence!_

 _Love,_

 _Your big sister Scarlett_

 _P.S. You owe me._

I shake my head and put the letter back into the bag. I don't know what she did with my pj's, but I know that I'll never see them again. I hold up the t-shirt and sigh. I'm gonna miss those things, they were so comfortable.

"Aren't you holding them right now?"

I lower the shirt to meet confused looks from both sisters. I sigh again.

"I guess I am." I reply. I turn to get dressed for bed, catching them giving each other a look out of the corner of my eye.

Quickly, I pull of my armour and hoodie, setting them in my bag. I go to take off my shirt, only to stop when I catch both girls still looking in my direction. I try to shoo them with a hand motion, but apparently it gets misinterpreted. Yang throws a hand over Ruby's eyes, but none on her own. I look at Yang expectantly. When she still doesn't turn around I roll my eyes.

"Will you please turn around so I can get changed?"

Yang smiles at that. "Nope."

I roll my eyes again. Whatever, I grew up with seven sisters, so I can deal with it.

I pull the shirt over my head, throwing it aside and pulling the other one on quickly. Their gasps stop me from reaching for my shorts. I turn to see expressions of shock etched into their faces.

"What?" I ask.

Silence.

Ruby is the first to break it.

"Is that.. Uh" she rubs a finger near her sternum "What we were talking about earlier?"

"Oh, that?" I ask, now understanding their shock. "Yeah. Same as yours." I confirm smiling sightly at her.

"Same as Ruby's?" Yang asks. Looking at Ruby's scar. "So you're saying that that scar came from your soulmate?" she asks incredulously. I nod, and her face turns horrified.

"I'm so sorry Jaune. I didn't know." she hurriedly replies. I looked at Ruby to find that she, too, had sad expression.

"What? No, no. She's fine!" I respond quickly. "It just left a nasty scar, nothing to be worried about anymore."

Yang gave me a skeptical look.

"You're sure?"

I nod

"Well if you say so." she shrugs.

"Are you guys close?" Ruby asks. The downcast look still on her face.

"Not extremely," I respond "but I'd like to think that we are at least friends."

"Do you.." she starts quietly "do you think that I could be friends with Weiss?"

My face softens at this. I look at Yang, noticing the lack of confusion. Ruby must have told her earlier.

"I'm sure you'll be fine Ruby, you just have to give her time. You did just trip all over her luggage." I say, trying to encourage her the same way she did earlier.

She smiles back.

"Thanks, Jaune."

I reach over and ruffle her hair, just like I would with Violet. She huffs in indignation. "No problem Ruby"

"Well, this is all fine and dandy, but we really should get some rest for tomorrow." Yang says, grabbing Ruby by the arm and heading to their sleeping area.

"Night guys" I offer as a farewell, stifling a yawn in the process.

"Night Jaune."

I finish changing and lay down in my sleeping bag. A candle is blown out somewhere and the room is encased in darkness. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I'll have a bed in the dorms.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading Chapter 6. I hope you all have a wonderful day! Also Merry Christmas if I don't update before then!**


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